117,000 Shares in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Acquired by Caxton Associates LP

Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 117,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,712,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CNP. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:CNP traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.53. 6,163,817 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,550,555. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $39.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.51. The company has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CNP shares. Barclays upgraded CenterPoint Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.79.

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.