Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $9.52 Million in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management has acquired 111,407 shares of Entergy Corporation, valuing the purchase at approximately $9.5 million.
• Insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares, decreasing their ownership by 57.36%, which raises questions about insider sentiment.
• Analysts are generally optimistic about Entergy's stock, with a consensus target price of $88.07 and a majority rating of "Moderate Buy."

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 111,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,524,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 17,954 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 668 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 4,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $403,901.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,318 shares in the company, valued at $300,279. This represents a 57.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ETR shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.07.

Entergy Price Performance

NYSE ETR traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $88.85. 1,323,597 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,556,200. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.74. Entergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.46 and a 1 year 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. The company has a market cap of $39.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.57.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 14.35%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Entergy's payout ratio is currently 59.85%.

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.