Cetera Investment Advisers Raises Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Entergy Corporation by 16%, acquiring an additional 35,977 shares, bringing its total to 260,496 shares valued at $22.27 million.
• Entergy Corporation reported an EPS of $0.82 for the quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, despite revenue falling short of expectations at $3.02 billion.
• The firm recently announced a dividend of $0.60 per share, representing a yield of 2.72%, with a payout ratio of 77.92% for investors of record on August 13th.

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 16.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,496 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 35,977 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers owned 0.06% of Entergy worth $22,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 25.1% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 82,751 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,074,000 after acquiring an additional 16,625 shares during the period. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Entergy during the first quarter valued at approximately $303,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in Entergy by 47.9% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,596 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 1,813 shares during the last quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new position in Entergy during the first quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new position in Entergy during the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ETR. Mizuho set a $97.00 price target on Entergy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (up from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on 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, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Entergy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Six equities research 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 MarketBeat, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.07.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR stock traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $90.37. The company had a trading volume of 822,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,630,381. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.23 and a 200-day moving average of $83.00. The company has a market capitalization of $38.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.59. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $57.47 and a 12-month high of $91.46.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 11.26%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy's payout ratio is currently 59.85%.

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.