R Squared Ltd Invests $462,000 in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $462,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 142.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,594,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,334,034,000 after purchasing an additional 10,347,926 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,884,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,895,000 after purchasing an additional 5,368,396 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Entergy by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,612,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $956,273,000 after acquiring an additional 5,998,760 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Entergy by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,514,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $645,550,000 after acquiring an additional 3,316,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in Entergy by 103.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,773,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $589,389,000 after acquiring an additional 3,956,122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ETR. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (up previously from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Entergy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Entergy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.07.

Entergy Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $89.75 on Friday. Entergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $57.58 and a 1 year high of $91.46. The firm has a market cap of $38.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.18.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 11.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. Analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is presently 59.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $403,901.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,279. The trade was a 57.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Company Profile

Entergy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and retail distribution of electricity in the United States. It generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power in portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, including the City of New Orleans; and distributes natural gas.