Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Holdings Lifted by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 95.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,506 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $3,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Resolution Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Entergy by 280.3% during the fourth quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 52,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,015,000 after buying an additional 39,033 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in Entergy during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,543,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 64,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,925,000 after buying an additional 24,172 shares in the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,646,000 after buying an additional 8,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Entergy by 141.9% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 76,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,783,000 after buying an additional 44,741 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:ETR opened at $83.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $52.07 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.16. The stock has a market cap of $35.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.22. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ETR. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Entergy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.04.

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.