Howard Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Howard Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $5,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after acquiring an additional 6,028 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Entergy by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Entergy by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 670,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,869,000 after acquiring an additional 286,005 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Entergy during the 1st quarter worth about $1,073,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 78,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,708,000 after acquiring an additional 15,892 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

NYSE:ETR opened at $88.25 on Wednesday. Entergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $56.98 and a 12 month high of $89.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market cap of $38.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 11.26%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ETR. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Entergy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.46.

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.