GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 9,289.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,327,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,313,520 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Entergy worth $113,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,133,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,952,773,000 after acquiring an additional 26,312,267 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Entergy by 142.8% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 10,347,926 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,884,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $976,895,000 after acquiring an additional 5,368,396 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,612,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $956,273,000 after acquiring an additional 5,998,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 11,042,159 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $837,216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,418,528 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Entergy from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.04.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR traded down $0.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $81.61. The company had a trading volume of 227,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,621,422. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62. Entergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $52.07 and a 12 month high of $88.38. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders 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 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Entergy's payout ratio is 77.92%.

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.