Kentucky Retirement Systems Boosts Stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 97.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,491 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Entergy were worth $2,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ETR. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 423.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ETR. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Entergy Stock Down 1.1 %

ETR opened at $84.94 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72. 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 one year low of $49.80 and a one year high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.56%.

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.