Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Takes Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 16,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,259,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ETR. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Entergy by 53.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $754,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,611 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,423,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $183,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411,473 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Entergy by 60.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,589,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $472,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,355 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Entergy by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,072,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,171,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,607,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $121,863,000 after purchasing an additional 787,367 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR opened at $85.82 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.01 and a 200-day moving average of $71.19. The company has a market capitalization of $36.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.24, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.72. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $49.80 and a 1-year high of $88.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $58.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Insider Activity

In other Entergy news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.