CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Acquired by Mariner LLC

Mariner LLC lifted its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 67,606 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,363 shares during the period. Mariner LLC's holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $2,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CNP. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target (up previously from $35.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.79.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of CNP traded down $0.16 on Tuesday, hitting $38.08. 450,594 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,570,829. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $24.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.99. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $25.41 and a one year high of $39.03.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.06%.

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.