CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Position Reduced by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 141,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,801 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $4,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CNP. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 566.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,744,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,482,966 shares in the last quarter. Teilinger Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $26,478,000. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 98.1% in the third quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,536,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,208,000 after purchasing an additional 760,956 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1,391.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 536,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,800,000 after purchasing an additional 500,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,083,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $442,231,000 after purchasing an additional 370,790 shares in the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE CNP opened at $32.40 on Tuesday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $33.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.97.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 58.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.46.

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.