Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Invests $247,000 in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,894 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Entergy by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,077 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 6,028 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Entergy by 74.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 670,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,869,000 after purchasing an additional 286,005 shares during the period. Horizon Investment Services LLC grew its position in Entergy by 95.3% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 4,319 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 25.4% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 78,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,708,000 after acquiring an additional 15,892 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Entergy in the first quarter valued at about $1,073,000. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE ETR traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $88.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,804,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,645,497. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.82. Entergy Corporation has a one year low of $56.00 and a one year high of $89.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 11.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Entergy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Barclays dropped 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.46.

About Entergy

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.