West Tower Group LLC Buys New Position in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP)

West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 13,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of CenterPoint Energy in the third quarter worth $26,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in CenterPoint Energy by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 901 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CenterPoint Energy by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 91.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CenterPoint Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CNP stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.77. 8,615,283 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,205,511. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.45. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.41 and a 52-week high of $36.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91.

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CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 10.02%. Research analysts predict that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on CNP shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on CenterPoint Energy from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $34.50 target price for the company. Scotiabank raised CenterPoint Energy from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CenterPoint Energy from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.77.

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.