Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 7,915 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,915 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $2,250,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 24,239 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,299 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 197,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,276,000 after purchasing an additional 22,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 91.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Price Performance

Shares of CNP stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $34.32. The company had a trading volume of 6,019,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,177,416. The stock's 50-day moving average is $32.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.41 and a 52 week high of $34.39.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. As a group, analysts predict 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, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. This is a positive change from CenterPoint Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. CenterPoint Energy's payout ratio is 55.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $34.50 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank upgraded CenterPoint Energy from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on CenterPoint Energy from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised CenterPoint Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price 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 issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.46.

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.