Allianz Asset Management GmbH Increases Stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 44.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 435,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 133,039 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.10% of Entergy worth $32,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Entergy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,408,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,501,509,000 after purchasing an additional 128,667 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 5.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,613,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $870,422,000 after purchasing an additional 315,750 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,981,611 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,965,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $651,206,000 after buying an additional 37,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Entergy by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,589,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $472,444,000 after buying an additional 1,354,355 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE ETR opened at $84.94 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $36.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72. Entergy Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.80 and a 52-week high of $88.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $79.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

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

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 98.56%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the 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. This represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ETR. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

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.