Squarepoint Ops LLC Lowers Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 96.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 455,691 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 4,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CNP shares. Argus raised CenterPoint Energy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised CenterPoint Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.04.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:CNP traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $36.78. The company had a trading volume of 4,824,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,635,289. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.28 and a 200 day moving average of $34.42. The company has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.41 and a 1 year high of $39.31.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.