LPL Financial LLC Buys 50,635 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Entergy Corporation by 6.2% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.20% of the company valued at $74.4 million.
• Entergy Corporation's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $1.05, exceeding expectations of $0.91, despite revenue of $3.02 billion falling short of the anticipated $3.11 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60, representing an annual yield of 2.69%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 13th.

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 870,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 50,635 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.20% of Entergy worth $74,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Entergy by 0.7% during the first quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 17,954 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 668 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 374 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 5.3% in the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 4,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ETR shares. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Mizuho set a $97.00 price objective on Entergy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Entergy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.07.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock traded up $1.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $90.48. 2,965,288 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,496,343. 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 has a market capitalization of $38.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.59. Entergy Corporation has a twelve month low of $57.47 and a twelve month high of $91.46. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $83.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.00.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 14.35%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. 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 is presently 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.