Boston Partners Purchases 14,068 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Key Points

• Boston Partners increased its ownership in Entergy Corporation by 0.4%, acquiring an additional 14,068 shares, bringing its total stake to approximately 3.23 million shares valued at $276.1 million.
• Entergy's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.05, exceeding estimates, but revenues were slightly below expectations at $3.02 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.6%, and a payout ratio of approximately 59.85%.

Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,229,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,068 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 0.75% of Entergy worth $276,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ETR. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 9.9% during the first quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,234,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $105,521,000 after acquiring an additional 110,756 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Entergy by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,176,178 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $100,171,000 after purchasing an additional 95,289 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Entergy in the first quarter worth about $463,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 3.7% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 133,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,374,000 after buying an additional 4,743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 14.8% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 100,822 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,619,000 after buying an additional 13,027 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Entergy Price Performance

Entergy stock traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $89.05. The stock had a trading volume of 4,104,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,711,109. 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 $85.15 and its 200 day moving average is $83.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.57. Entergy Corporation has a one year low of $58.46 and a one year high of $92.40.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 59.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider owned 3,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $300,279. This represents a 57.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (up from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their target price on Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Mizuho set a $97.00 price objective on Entergy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.07.

Entergy Company 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.