Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 2,430 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,430 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $1,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CNP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 38.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,602,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $302,070,000 after acquiring an additional 2,961,464 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at about $63,758,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 46.6% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 4,666,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $144,570,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,079 shares during the last quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at about $42,548,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at about $31,188,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CNP opened at $29.37 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.41 and a fifty-two week high of $31.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.03. The company has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.11.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.09.

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.