Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Grows Holdings in Entergy Corporation $ETR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Entergy were worth $1,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Entergy by 964.8% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,055,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $261,232,000 after purchasing an additional 2,768,734 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Entergy by 5.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,828,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,687,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695,348 shares during the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Entergy during the first quarter worth about $194,429,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Entergy in the first quarter valued at about $123,648,000. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in Entergy by 285.5% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,133,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,901,000 after acquiring an additional 839,474 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $95.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.62. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $90.45 and its 200 day moving average is $85.71. Entergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $64.72 and a 12 month high of $98.58.

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

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is 59.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank set a $105.00 target price on shares of Entergy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Entergy in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Barclays set a $100.00 target price on shares of Entergy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.