Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Reduces Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 38.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 537,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 336,650 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of CenterPoint Energy worth $20,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth $25,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 107.9% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth about $30,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.3%

CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $43.49 on Tuesday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.10 and a fifty-two week high of $44.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $28.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.37.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 10.46%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900- EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 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, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is 57.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho set a $44.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.55.

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.