Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases New Stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC has acquired a new stake in Entergy Corporation, purchasing 28,518 shares valued at approximately $2.4 million in the first quarter.
• Multiple large investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Schroder Investment Management Group, have significantly increased their holdings in Entergy during the fourth quarter, indicating growing institutional interest.
• Entergy Corporation recently posted earnings that beat estimates, reporting $1.05 EPS, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60, reflecting a 2.7% yield.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 28,518 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,438,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Entergy by 275.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,176 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 6,733 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 149.8% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,763 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 6,455 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 231.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 342,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,945,000 after buying an additional 239,017 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 177.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $721,000 after buying an additional 6,026 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,636 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Entergy Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $90.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $83.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.09. Entergy Corporation has a 52-week low of $57.47 and a 52-week high of $91.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ETR shares. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $96.00 price target (up from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Entergy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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