Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Boosts Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 16.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,443 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $1,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 5.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,828,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,687,331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,348 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in 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 worth $1,334,034,000 after acquiring an additional 10,347,926 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,884,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,895,000 after acquiring an additional 5,368,396 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Entergy by 103.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,773,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $589,389,000 after acquiring an additional 3,956,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Entergy by 58.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,375,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $483,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359,445 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $90.95 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.57. Entergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.19 and a 12 month high of $92.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 11.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 59.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Entergy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 price objective (up previously from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.07.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other Entergy news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $403,901.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,279. The trade was a 57.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.