Sterling Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 41.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,867 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $1,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNP. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 165.0% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $45.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays upped their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.69.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP stock opened at $44.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.61. The company has a market capitalization of $28.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.46. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.46 and a twelve month high of $45.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 11.38%.The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 56.44%.

CenterPoint Energy Company 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.