Freestone Grove Partners LP Takes Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 223,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,861,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 58,286,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,234,712,000 after buying an additional 6,794,535 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 20,941,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $802,916,000 after buying an additional 235,346 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth about $770,871,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,023,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $650,189,000 after acquiring an additional 166,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $343,925,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP stock opened at $39.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $42.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.60. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.60 and a 12 month high of $45.26.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.61% and a return on equity of 11.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. Analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. KeyCorp cut their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.36.

CenterPoint Energy Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE: CNP) is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company’s principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint’s core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.