14,612 Shares in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Purchased by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14,612 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,108,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Entergy by 21.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $129,840,000 after purchasing an additional 174,093 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Entergy by 40.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Entergy by 4.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,885,000 after purchasing an additional 10,697 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Entergy by 11.4% in the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,795,000 after purchasing an additional 9,986 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy in the fourth quarter worth $4,393,000. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of 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. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Entergy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Six investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Entergy Stock Down 1.1 %

ETR stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $84.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,755,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,959,623. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Entergy Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.80 and a twelve month high of $88.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $79.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of Entergy 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

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.