Cresset Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Cresset Asset Management LLC lessened its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 74.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,386 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 19,002 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 45,573,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,446,036,000 after buying an additional 27,799,744 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $164,350,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $158,232,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1,431.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,408,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $108,153,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185,932 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter worth $97,348,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Argus raised CenterPoint Energy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Guggenheim cut CenterPoint Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.04.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CNP traded down $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $37.12. 4,244,210 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,585,209. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $25.41 and a one year high of $39.31. The stock's fifty day moving average is $36.95 and its 200 day moving average is $33.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market cap of $24.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63.

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

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.06%.

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.