USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 71,873 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 47.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,798 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 71,873 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $2,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,242,000. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 17,811 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 2,658 shares in the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 9,908 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth $333,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 195,591 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,627 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:CNP traded down $0.18 during trading on Thursday, hitting $37.01. 2,498,401 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,609,237. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $37.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.18. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.41 and a 12-month high of $39.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is 59.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CNP shares. Argus upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of 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 upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.04.

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.