Strs Ohio Increases Holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Strs Ohio increased its position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 37.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Entergy were worth $4,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ETR. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 637,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,429,000 after purchasing an additional 11,568 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 44,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,208,000 after purchasing an additional 7,434 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 189,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,074,000 after purchasing an additional 65,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 288,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,717,000 after purchasing an additional 79,137 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETR has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Entergy in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.78.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE ETR opened at $103.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.01. Entergy Co. has a 12-month low of $87.10 and a 12-month high of $109.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.54% and a net margin of 19.41%. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Research analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s payout ratio is 40.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,019,247.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $1,609,312.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $1,226,685. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.