American International Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

American International Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 165,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,492 shares during the period. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $4,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CNP. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 163.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 73.1% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CenterPoint Energy

In related news, Director Barry T. Smitherman sold 5,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total transaction of $166,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $623,792.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CNP opened at $31.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.72. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.42 and a twelve month high of $31.57.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 10.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 15th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CNP. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.80.

CenterPoint Energy Company 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.