Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,750 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 41.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,479 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,750 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $79,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP stock opened at $32.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.73 and its 200 day moving average is $29.62. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.41 and a 1-year high of $33.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $21.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.95.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.31. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. CenterPoint Energy’s payout ratio is currently 55.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CNP shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $34.50 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank raised CenterPoint Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CenterPoint Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.27.

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.