Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Shares Bought by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 95.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,506 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $3,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY raised its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank raised its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ETR shares. KeyCorp upgraded Entergy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.04.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $83.10 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $35.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.13, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.16. 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 12 month low of $52.07 and a 12 month high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Entergy’s payout ratio is 77.92%.

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.