VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes $27 Million Position in Entergy Corporation $ETR

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 324,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,002,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.08% of Entergy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 275.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 6,733 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 103,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,835,000 after buying an additional 6,811 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Entergy by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Price Performance

NYSE ETR opened at $95.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.10. The company has a market cap of $42.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.62. Entergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $66.75 and a 1 year high of $98.58.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter. Entergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 11.52%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.85%.

Insider Activity

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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,279. This represents a 57.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ETR shares. Scotiabank set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Entergy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays set a $100.00 price target on shares of Entergy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Entergy from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Entergy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.57.

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.