CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 4.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 500,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,784 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $15,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 1.3% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 175,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,429,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the period. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Cypress Capital Group acquired a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its position in CenterPoint Energy by 3.3% in the second quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 15,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 18.7% during the second quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 78,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,442,000 after buying an additional 12,422 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CNP opened at $27.08 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $31.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.67. The company has a market cap of $17.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.04. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CNP. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $28.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.73.

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.