CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) Position Reduced by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,117 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,484,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,104,000 after purchasing an additional 42,578 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $908,000. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $2,564,000. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 1.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,898,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,863,000 after purchasing an additional 24,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $265,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE CNP opened at $34.04 on Thursday. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.41 and a twelve month high of $34.17. 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 has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.20.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. This is a boost from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is presently 55.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim cut CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price target on the stock. Scotiabank raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $31.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.46.

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.