Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 37,656 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Entergy Corporation by 1.4%, owning approximately 2.79 million shares valued at $238.2 million.
• In recent quarters, several institutional investors, including Choreo LLC and Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc., have raised their holdings in Entergy, with hedge funds holding 88.07% of the stock.
• Entergy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.7%, with a payout ratio of 59.85%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,786,484 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 37,656 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.65% of Entergy worth $238,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 142.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,594,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,334,034,000 after purchasing an additional 10,347,926 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Entergy by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,884,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $976,895,000 after purchasing an additional 5,368,396 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Entergy by 103.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,773,654 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $589,389,000 after purchasing an additional 3,956,122 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 474.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,876,985 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $293,953,000 after acquiring an additional 3,201,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Entergy by 964.8% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,055,698 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $261,232,000 after acquiring an additional 2,768,734 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Entergy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (up from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho set a $97.00 price objective on Entergy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Six 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 a consensus target price of $88.07.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $90.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,399,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,853,424. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $84.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.56. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $58.17 and a fifty-two week high of $92.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Entergy's payout ratio is 59.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $403,901.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,279. The trade was a 57.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Entergy 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.