Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,605,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 404,190 shares during the period. CenterPoint Energy accounts for about 1.7% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $146,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 1,158.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $68,000. Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new position in CenterPoint Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $7,062,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in CenterPoint Energy by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 124,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,653,000 after buying an additional 4,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 113,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,345,000 after acquiring an additional 5,300 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

CNP opened at $35.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.41 and a 12 month high of $36.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.64. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. As a group, research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim downgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded CenterPoint Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.77.

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.