Palisade Asset Management LLC recently announced that it has trimmed its holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. by 6.1% during the last quarter of 2020. According to the company’s most recent SEC filings, Palisade now owns 86,646 shares of CenterPoint Energy’s stock, worth approximately $2,599,000.
CenterPoint Energy is a prominent holding company that specializes in power generation and distribution. The company operates through three primary segments: CenterPoint Energy, Houston Electric, and CERC. The CenterPoint Energy segment mainly provides electric transmission and distribution services in the Texas Gulf Coast area in the ERCOT region, while also offering similar services to southwestern Indiana. Additionally, this business unit includes power generation and wholesale power operations in the MISO region.
Despite Palisade Asset Management LLC’s latest filing revealing a decrease in their shareholdings of CNP (NYSE:CNP), it still remains a major player on Wall Street with ever-increasing trading volumes which reached almost 790 thousand shares last Friday alone.
At its most recent trading price of $30.66 per share, CenterPoint Energy sits at a pivotal point for investors with a wide-ranging set of statistics across several key areas. For instance, the firm has seen an average volume of around 3.7 million shares traded daily but has been fluctuating between $25.03 and $33.50 over the past year.
Furthermore, as seen from its statistics for quick ratio (0.75), current ratio (0.92), and debt-to-equity ratio (0.02), CenterPoint Energy appears to have maintained financial stability notwithstanding the challenges posed by COVID-19.
Overall, it is clear that Palisade Asset Management LLC still holds substantial interests in CenterPoint Energy despite their reduced stakeholding. With all indicators pointing to ongoing growth within CNP’s portfolio coupled with its extensive market presence within the Texas Gulf Coast area and the United States energy sector generally, investors may want to consider keeping a close eye on this stock as it navigates its way through 2021.
CenterPoint Energy: Powering the Texas Gulf Coast with Growth Potential
CenterPoint Energy — A Power Generation and Distribution Giant
When it comes to power generation and distribution in the Texas Gulf Coast area, CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) is a force to be reckoned with. The holding company boasts three segments: CenterPoint Energy, Houston Electric, and CERC (CenterPoint Energy Resources Corp). The core strength of its business is transmission and distribution services in the ERCOT region of Texas along with Southwest Indiana.
According to recent data, 90.28% of the stock in CenterPoint Energy is owned by institutional investors. It’s easy to see why. This past quarter saw CNP outperform on earnings per share, reporting $0.50 versus a market estimate of $0.48 – an impressive 4% beat.
Analyst recommendations from top firms tracking CNP have recently been cautiously optimistic about purchasing shares. Notably, Bank of America analysts upped their price target on the stock from $30 to $35 while Guggenheim switched their rating from “buy” to “neutral”. In light of these assessments, CenterPoint Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” based on Bloomberg analysis, with a consensus price target hovering at around $32.75 per share.
Amongst several other hedge funds that reported acquiring or trimming modest stakes in CenterPoint Energy during Q1 2017 there were several notable names such as Savant Capital LLC., Country Club Bank GFN, Oak Thistle LLC., Daiwa Securities Group Inc., and Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC which added $200K, over 165K shares worth over $4.9M after this most recent purchase cycle; a significant addition for any portfolio that seeks some exposure to dividend focused markets for clients.
Looking ahead for the full fiscal year end due this December; analysts expect positive growth within CNP maintaining attractive investment opportunities demonstrating balanced rates (%) between stocks buybacks’ returns (-2.90%) and growth profits add-ons (+19.29%). The company’s P/E ratio is currently 24.40 and the dividend payout ratio to investors will be $0.76 annually (on an ex-dividend date of May 17th) which represents a dividend yield around 2.48% for the stockholders of record on May 18th.
CenterPoint Energy continues to grow its transmission and distribution services while investments from top institutional investors show a clear confidence in its performance outlook, and with the continued expansion of power generation markets both locally within Texas and strong foothold it holds with some overarching presences in other states; we might just see bigger gains by year-end, particularly for those who prioritize their portfolio making choices towards standout dividend plays that provide prudent stability yet still drive fundamental value upside potential!
