Zimmer Partners LP Buys New Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 294,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,291,000. Zimmer Partners LP owned approximately 0.07% of Entergy at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,133,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,952,773,000 after purchasing an additional 26,312,267 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 142.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,594,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,334,034,000 after purchasing an additional 10,347,926 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Entergy by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,884,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $976,895,000 after acquiring an additional 5,368,396 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Entergy by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,612,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $956,273,000 after acquiring an additional 5,998,760 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Entergy by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 11,042,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $837,216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,418,528 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ETR opened at $82.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $52.07 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.23.

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

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.04.

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.