Cwm LLC Sells 2,752 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Cwm LLC lessened its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,752 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 163.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 634.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $29.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.12 and its 200 day moving average is $28.05. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.42 and a twelve month high of $31.43.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 56.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CNP. Barclays upped their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Guggenheim decreased their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered CenterPoint Energy from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.18.

About CenterPoint Energy

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.