Davis Investment Partners LLC Acquires New Shares in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Davis Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 7,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $582,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ETR. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new position in Entergy during the first quarter worth $251,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy by 5.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in Entergy by 4.3% during the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 17,080 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 3.4% during the first quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 16,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new position in Entergy during the first quarter worth $213,000. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE ETR traded up $1.07 on Thursday, reaching $83.22. 2,574,970 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,598,707. Entergy Corporation has a one year low of $52.07 and a one year high of $88.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $82.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.22. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ETR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.04.

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.