Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $228,000 Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 25.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,701 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNP. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. 91.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP stock opened at $29.97 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.25 and its 200-day moving average is $29.08. 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 capitalization of $19.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.92. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $31.57.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 11.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 52.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CNP shares. Bank of America started coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CenterPoint Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.09.

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.