Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 945,699 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 46,821 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.45% of Entergy worth $95,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Entergy by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 36,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,419,000 after buying an additional 11,927 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,997 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of Entergy by 4,752.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 129,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,098,000 after buying an additional 126,902 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 38,239 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,537,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ETR shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.45.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR traded down $1.03 on Friday, hitting $106.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,144,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,560,942. Entergy Co. has a 1-year low of $87.10 and a 1-year high of $108.81. The stock has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $103.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.36). Entergy had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $31.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.34%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total value of $874,140.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,911 shares in the company, valued at $1,019,247.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total transaction of $874,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,019,247.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $200,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,609,312.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $1,226,685. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

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.