Truist Financial Corp Increases Stake in CenterPoint Energy

In a recent development, Truist Financial Corp has increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, as disclosed in its latest Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Following the acquisition of an additional 2,069 shares, Truist now owns 85,759 shares of the utility provider's stock. As of the latest filing, these holdings are valued at approximately $2,721,000.

Other hedge funds have also adjusted their positions in CenterPoint Energy. For instance, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings by 56.8% in the third quarter, now owning 20,801 shares worth $612,000 after adding 7,538 shares. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake by 1.4%, bringing its total to 36,700 shares valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. has raised its ownership by 33.5%, now holding 41,192 shares worth $1,199,000 following the purchase of 10,346 shares. Forsta AP Fonden saw a staggering increase of 79.1%, now owning 106,000 shares valued at $3,119,000, after acquiring an additional 46,800 shares. Lastly, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake by 25.7%, holding 2,047 shares worth $60,000 after acquiring 418 additional shares during the same period. Altogether, institutional investors and hedge funds control 91.77% of CenterPoint Energy's stock.

Current Share Performance

As for the stock's current performance, shares of NYSE CNP opened at $34.19 on Wednesday. The market capitalization of CenterPoint Energy is approximately $22.28 billion. The company has a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71, and a beta of 0.95. CenterPoint Energy's debt-to-equity ratio stands at 1.91, while it has a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.43 and a two-hundred-day moving average of $30.46. The stock's one-year low is $25.41, while its one-year high is $34.44.

On February 20th, CenterPoint Energy announced its quarterly earnings results, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40, meeting analysts' expectations. The company's revenue for the quarter was $2.26 billion, falling short of the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy reported a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. Analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will report an EPS of 1.75 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

In another noteworthy update, CenterPoint Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend set to be paid on March 13th. Shareholders on record as of February 20th will receive a dividend of $0.22 per share, with an ex-dividend date also on February 20th. This marks an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.21, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.88 and a yield of 2.57%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently at 55.35%.

Analyst Ratings

Several research firms have shared their insights regarding CenterPoint Energy. UBS Group upgraded the stock from a “neutral” to a “buy” rating, increasing the target price from $31.00 to $37.00 in a note published on December 3rd. Barclays also raised their target price from $29.00 to $30.00, assigning an “underweight” rating to the stock on January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered its target price from $32.00 to $31.00, maintaining an “equal weight” rating in a note published on November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage with a “buy” rating and set a target price of $34.50. Conversely, Guggenheim downgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” to a “neutral” rating in a report dated January 23rd. Overall, two analysts have issued sell ratings, seven have a hold rating, and three have given buy ratings, resulting in an average stock rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.65.

About CenterPoint Energy

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. It is divided into two segments: Electric and Natural Gas. The Electric segment provides electric transmission and distribution services to customers and manages assets in the wholesale power market.

Truist, CenterPoint, Investment, Utility, Shares