Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 5,271,559 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 106.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,236,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,271,559 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.39% of Entergy worth $774,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,393,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 74.3% in the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,393 shares during the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $217,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 324.3% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy by 88.8% in the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 360,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,333,000 after purchasing an additional 169,511 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $86.67 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $37.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.59, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.19 and a 12 month high of $88.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.36.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp cut shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 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 target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.75.

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.