Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Increases Stock Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board significantly increased its holdings in Entergy Corporation by 463.0% in the 1st quarter, acquiring a total of 28,462 shares valued at approximately $2.43 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Legacy Financial Advisors and Bank of Montreal Can, have also increased their stakes in Entergy, indicating a growing institutional interest in the company.
• Entergy's most recent earnings report showed it surpassed earnings estimates with $1.05 EPS against a consensus of $0.91, and it has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60, reflecting a yield of 2.7%.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 463.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,407 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Entergy were worth $2,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Entergy by 5.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,828,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,687,331,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,348 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,884,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $976,895,000 after acquiring an additional 5,368,396 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Entergy by 103.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,773,654 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $589,389,000 after buying an additional 3,956,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Entergy by 58.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,375,510 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $483,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359,445 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 3,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available at this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETR traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,627,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,917,138. The business's 50 day moving average price is $84.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.49. The company has a market cap 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. 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 released its 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. Entergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 11.52%. The business 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 business earned $1.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETR has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their target price on Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Entergy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Mizuho set a $97.00 price target on Entergy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.07.

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.