HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Sells 50,000 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Key Points

• HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. by selling 50,000 shares, bringing its ownership down to approximately 1.83 million shares, which makes up about 4.1% of their portfolio.
• CenterPoint Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equating to an annual yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 61.54%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.29 for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate by $0.15 while generating revenue of $1.94 billion.

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,831,554 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 50,000 shares during the quarter. CenterPoint Energy accounts for 4.1% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned 0.28% of CenterPoint Energy worth $66,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $286,000. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 67,606 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,145,000 after buying an additional 10,363 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 55,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,764,000 after buying an additional 4,387 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CNP traded up $0.0340 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.0340. The company had a trading volume of 5,607,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,261,977. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.38. The stock has a market cap of $24.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.58. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.32 and a 52-week high of $39.39.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 9.16%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.740-1.760 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.38.

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.