Guidance Capital Inc. Raises Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 110.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,813 shares during the quarter. Guidance Capital Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $1,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ETR. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 53.0% during 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 period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,423,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $183,754,000 after buying an additional 1,411,473 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,589,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $472,444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,355 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,607,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $121,863,000 after acquiring an additional 787,367 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 1,490.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 687,874 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,155,000 after acquiring an additional 644,622 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ETR. StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America cut Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Entergy from $68.50 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.81.

Entergy Stock Performance

Entergy stock opened at $81.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $77.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.08. The company has a market capitalization of $35.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $48.08 and a 12-month high of $84.26.

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.47%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,210.88. This represents a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,444.48. This trade represents a 67.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Entergy Company 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.