Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 81,621 Shares of CenterPoint Energy, Inc. $CNP

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) by 81.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 81,621 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CenterPoint Energy were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 486,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,878,000 after acquiring an additional 15,754 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 7,220,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,146,000 after acquiring an additional 962,910 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in CenterPoint Energy by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 522,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,133,000 after acquiring an additional 65,440 shares during the period. Ethos Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,356,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in CenterPoint Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $949,000. Institutional investors own 91.77% of the company’s stock.

CenterPoint Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of CNP opened at $42.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.04. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.46 and a 1 year high of $44.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.03. The firm has a market cap of $27.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.48.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.02). CenterPoint Energy had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. CenterPoint Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.910 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that CenterPoint Energy, Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CenterPoint Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. CenterPoint Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CNP. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $44.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho set a $44.00 target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of CenterPoint Energy from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.62.

CenterPoint Energy Company Profile

CenterPoint Energy, Inc (NYSE: CNP) is a Houston-based regulated utility company that provides electric and natural gas delivery services and related infrastructure operations. The company’s principal activities center on the transmission and distribution of electricity in the greater Houston metropolitan area and the distribution of natural gas to customers across several states in the Midwest and South. As a vertically integrated utility, CenterPoint focuses on the reliable delivery of energy through owned and operated networks of lines, pipelines and associated facilities.

CenterPoint’s core businesses include regulated electric transmission and distribution services, regulated natural gas distribution, and the operation and maintenance of energy infrastructure.