Johnson Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Entergy Corporation $ETR

Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 7.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 3.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 56,459,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,692,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,674 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 2.2% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,173,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,126,244,000 after buying an additional 289,468 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,242,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $930,541,000 after buying an additional 505,344 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Entergy by 114.9% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,940,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $578,531,000 after buying an additional 3,710,814 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,333,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $370,488,000 after acquiring an additional 143,187 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Performance

ETR stock opened at $96.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Entergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $73.15 and a 1 year high of $98.58. The company has a market cap of $43.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $95.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.76.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 14.26%.The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is 63.21%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, Director Ralph Lewis Ropp acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $96.69 per share, for a total transaction of $96,690.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,050 shares in the company, valued at $101,524.50. The trade was a 2,000.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 5,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.50, for a total transaction of $495,624.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,253.50. The trade was a 39.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,179 shares of company stock worth $981,707 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Entergy from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $106.00 price target (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $100.00 price objective on Entergy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.47.

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.