National Pension Service Decreases Holdings in Entergy Corporation $ETR

Key Points

• The National Pension Service has reduced its stake in Entergy Corporation by 3.6%, now owning approximately 0.15% of the company after selling 23,546 shares, valued at $54.6 million.
• Entergy's recent earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $1.05 earnings per share against a consensus estimate of $0.91, and generating revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 13th, representing an annualized yield of 2.7%.

National Pension Service lessened its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 638,972 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 23,546 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.15% of Entergy worth $54,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Entergy during the first quarter worth $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Entergy by 188.5% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 352 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy during the first quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ETR. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $96.00 price target (up from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $97.00 price target on Entergy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.07.

Entergy Stock Performance

ETR stock traded down $1.20 during trading on Monday, hitting $87.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,910,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,558,374. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.79 and a 1-year high of $92.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.87. The firm has a market cap of $39.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy's payout ratio is currently 59.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total transaction of $403,901.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $300,279. The trade was a 57.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

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.