CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Sold by Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA

Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA lowered its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 15.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 215,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 38,136 shares during the period. CenterPoint Energy makes up approximately 1.1% of Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Beach Investment Counsel Inc. PA's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $7,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 58.0% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,457 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 13,718 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 15,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 201.5% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNP has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $35.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $36.04.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CNP opened at $36.59 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.51. The company has a market cap of $23.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.59. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $39.31.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.06%.

CenterPoint Energy 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.

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