Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Shares Acquired by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 179.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 272,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 174,960 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Entergy worth $20,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $754,318,000 after buying an additional 1,981,611 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 139.5% during 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. increased its stake in Entergy by 60.6% during 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Entergy by 87.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,848,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,958,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Entergy by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,072,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061,527 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,210.88. This trade represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $85.21 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $79.66 and its 200 day moving average is $71.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $36.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.80 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38.

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

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s payout ratio is 98.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

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.