Royal Bank of Canada Increases Stock Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 80.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,673,139 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,089,169 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 1.09% of Entergy worth $354,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 95.4% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 48,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 23,506 shares during the last quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 280.3% during the 4th quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 52,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,015,000 after acquiring an additional 39,033 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in shares of Entergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,543,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 64,962 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,925,000 after acquiring an additional 24,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,646,000 after acquiring an additional 8,882 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Entergy Trading Up 1.5%

ETR traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $84.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,736,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,687,706. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $52.07 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38. The stock has a market cap of $36.30 billion, a PE ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62. The business's 50-day moving average is $83.04 and its 200-day moving average is $80.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ETR. UBS Group increased their price objective on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp raised Entergy from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.04.

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.