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

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its stake in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,657 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNP. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,209,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,559,000 after purchasing an additional 256,820 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 163.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth $601,000. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 173,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the period. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

NYSE CNP traded up $0.48 on Friday, reaching $29.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,664,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,805,707. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.42 and a twelve month high of $31.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.87.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.02. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CNP. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of CenterPoint Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at CenterPoint Energy

In other CenterPoint Energy news, Director Barry T. Smitherman sold 5,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.42, for a total transaction of $166,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $623,792.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy 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.