International Assets Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

International Assets Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Phillip R. Smith sold 6,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.83, for a total value of $240,746.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 65,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,546,354.91. This represents a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

NYSE:CNP opened at $38.74 on Friday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $31.76 and a one year high of $40.50. The stock has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a PE ratio of 24.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.50.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.04. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho set a $42.00 price objective on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. KeyCorp raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Evercore ISI started coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $43.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.82.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE: CNP) is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company’s principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint’s core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.