Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Lowers Stock Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 364 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CNP. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% in 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. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE CNP opened at $34.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.59. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.41 and a fifty-two week high of $34.49.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. Sell-side analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 55.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on CNP shares. UBS Group raised CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim cut CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.65.

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.