Choreo LLC Sells 44,074 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Choreo LLC lessened its holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 84.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 44,074 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $254,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 157,052 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,983,000 after buying an additional 8,134 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $158,232,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 197,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,264,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CNP shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Mizuho set a $39.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.38.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $38.81. 5,174,226 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,380,049. The company has a market cap of $25.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.57. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.41 and a 52-week high of $39.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company's 50-day moving average price is $36.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.76.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.20 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.16% and a net margin of 10.42%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

About CenterPoint Energy

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.