CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Sold by Zimmer Partners LP

Zimmer Partners LP reduced its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 99.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,520,840 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 4,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company's stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:CNP traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $37.59. 3,035,212 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,583,374. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $37.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $39.31. The company has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63.

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

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Finally, Barclays raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.04.

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.