Stack Financial Management Inc Sells 6,695 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Stack Financial Management Inc lessened its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 739,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,695 shares during the period. CenterPoint Energy accounts for about 2.1% of Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $23,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Leeward Investments LLC MA increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 269,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,551,000 after buying an additional 60,370 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth $4,764,000. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 85,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,721,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

CenterPoint Energy stock opened at $34.16 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $32.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.40. The firm has a market cap of $22.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.95. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $25.41 and a one year high of $34.44.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. As a group, research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CNP. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group raised CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Guggenheim lowered CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.65.

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.