Jennison Associates LLC Buys New Holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 281,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,506,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Entergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,000. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Entergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,782,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in Entergy by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 20,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,092,000 after acquiring an additional 2,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $804,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total value of $200,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,312.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Entergy news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $200,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,312.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total value of $874,140.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,019,247.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $1,226,685 over the last quarter. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ETR. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.45.

Entergy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of ETR stock opened at $106.46 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $87.10 and a fifty-two week high of $109.53.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.36). Entergy had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.54%. The firm had revenue of $31.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Entergy’s payout ratio is 40.76%.

Entergy 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.