Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 1,039 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 61.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $207,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Entergy by 99.1% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 436,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,087,000 after purchasing an additional 217,190 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 96.3% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 225,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,076,000 after acquiring an additional 110,488 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA bought a new stake in shares of Entergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,009,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 109.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 177,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,444,000 after acquiring an additional 92,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ETR opened at $87.31 on Thursday. Entergy Corporation has a one year low of $49.80 and a one year high of $88.38. The company has a market cap of $37.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.08.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.47%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,210.88. This represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ETR shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, Bank of America cut Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned 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 an average target price of $82.14.

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.