Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Makes New Investment in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has acquired a new stake in Entergy Corporation, purchasing 4,299 shares valued at approximately $367,000 during the first quarter.
• Insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of Entergy stock at an average price of $90.50, significantly decreasing their ownership by 57.36% to 3,318 shares.
• Analysts have set target prices for Entergy, with Mizuho recommending an "outperform" rating and a target of $97.00, while the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $88.07.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,299 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,077 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,219,000 after acquiring an additional 6,028 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 12.3% in the first 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 increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 74.3% in the fourth 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 shares of Entergy in the first quarter worth $1,073,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 25.4% in the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Entergy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $97.00 target price on shares of Entergy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.07.

Entergy Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE ETR traded up $1.98 on Monday, hitting $91.65. 3,509,584 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,721,498. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $57.58 and a fifty-two week high of $91.90. The company has a market cap of $39.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $83.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.22.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.14. Entergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 11.52%. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors 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 2.6%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,318 shares in the company, valued at $300,279. This represents a 57.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.