Boston Partners Buys 14,068 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Boston Partners boosted its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,229,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,068 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Entergy were worth $276,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 188.5% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total transaction of $403,901.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,318 shares in the company, valued at $300,279. This represents a 57.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Entergy Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of ETR opened at $90.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.80. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.17 and a fifty-two week high of $92.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.61.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.14. Entergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ETR shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up previously from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Entergy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.07.

About Entergy

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.