Natixis Sells 16,553 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Natixis lowered its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 93.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,166 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,553 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $37,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Assetmark Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:CNP traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $38.53. 1,002,671 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,568,606. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.65. 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 fifty day moving average of $35.89 and a 200 day moving average of $33.07. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.41 and a 12 month high of $39.43.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 11.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. CenterPoint Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (up previously from $35.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Argus upgraded CenterPoint Energy to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Barclays raised CenterPoint Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $30.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, 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 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $35.79.

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.