Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 125.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 289,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 161,153 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $21,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Entergy in the fourth quarter worth about $9,135,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Entergy by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 8,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 169.6% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,039 shares during the period. Finally, FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 5,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,727 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE ETR opened at $86.09 on Thursday. Entergy Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.80 and a twelve month high of $88.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $37.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $80.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.15.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s payout ratio is 98.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on ETR shares. KeyCorp lowered shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.