Entergy Corporation $ETR Shares Acquired by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has increased its stake in Entergy Corporation by 13.4% during the first quarter, owning 553,514 shares valued at approximately $47.32 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $89.87 for Entergy shares, with a majority rating the stock as a Buy.
• Entergy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 59.85%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 553,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 65,341 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.13% of Entergy worth $47,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Entergy by 474.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,876,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $293,953,000 after acquiring an additional 3,201,530 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Entergy by 964.8% during the 1st 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. raised its position in shares of Entergy by 5.2% during the 1st 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 acquired a new position in shares of Entergy during the 1st quarter worth about $194,429,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Entergy by 80.9% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,673,139 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $354,317,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089,169 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ETR traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.33. The company had a trading volume of 613,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,438,600. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $62.31 and a 1-year high of $92.40. The stock has a market cap of $40.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.14. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 14.35%.The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. Entergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.750-3.95 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ETR. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Entergy in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $109.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $86.00 price objective on Entergy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho set a $97.00 price objective on Entergy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Entergy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.87.

Insider Activity

In other Entergy news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total transaction of $403,901.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $300,279. This trade represents a 57.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.