Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $4.17 Million Stock Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,358 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $4,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE CNP opened at $35.52 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.41 and a 12 month high of $35.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.03 and a 200-day moving average of $31.13. The company has a market cap of $23.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CNP. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim downgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded CenterPoint Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.77.

CenterPoint Energy Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electric and Natural Gas. The Electric segment includes electric transmission and distribution services to electric customers and electric generation assets, as well as optimizes assets in the wholesale power market.