Stack Financial Management Inc Cuts Stock Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Stack Financial Management Inc lessened its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 730,983 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,938 shares during the period. CenterPoint Energy accounts for about 2.2% of Stack Financial Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Stack Financial Management Inc owned 0.11% of CenterPoint Energy worth $26,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,381,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 80,577 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,557,000 after buying an additional 2,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company's stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CNP traded up $0.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.27. 5,773,510 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,532,118. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.41 and a 1 year high of $39.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.57. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $36.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.31.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) 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 9.74% and a net margin of 10.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CNP. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up from $35.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.13.

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.