CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP Stake Lowered by Strs Ohio

Strs Ohio decreased its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 80.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 63,343 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter worth $313,456,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 31.6% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,859,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $288,765,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886,374 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3,842.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,609,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,568,714 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 81,362,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,989,256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301,374 shares during the period. Finally, Tredje AP fonden lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 1,953.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 1,010,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,114,000 after purchasing an additional 960,978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $41.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group lowered their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Mizuho set a $42.00 price target on CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.82.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNP opened at $39.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.38. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.95 and a 12 month high of $40.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.58.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 55.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Phillip R. Smith sold 6,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total transaction of $240,746.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 65,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,546,354.91. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.