CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Short Interest Up 9.2% in November

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 18,200,000 shares, an increase of 9.2% from the November 15th total of 16,670,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CenterPoint Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter worth about $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $32.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.96. CenterPoint Energy has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $33.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.43.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 55.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.27.

CenterPoint Energy Company 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.