Mizuho Securities USA LLC Decreases Stock Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stock position in Entergy Corporation by 15.5%, selling 6,307 shares and worth approximately $2.93 million at the end of the period.
• Multiple hedge funds, including True North Advisors LLC and Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd., initiated new stakes in Entergy during the same quarter, indicating increased institutional interest.
• Despite some analysts cutting their target prices, others have set higher price objectives, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.07 for Entergy stock.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,307 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Entergy were worth $2,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy during the 1st quarter valued at $405,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Entergy during the 1st quarter valued at $9,524,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Entergy during the 1st quarter valued at $4,755,000. Founders Financial Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy during the 1st quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Entergy by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 402,560 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,412,000 after buying an additional 10,428 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other Entergy news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total transaction of $403,901.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $300,279. This represents a 57.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Entergy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $96.00 price objective (up previously from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Entergy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.07.

Entergy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $90.44 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $84.36 and a 200 day moving average of $83.50. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $57.65 and a fifty-two week high of $92.40.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 11.52%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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