Guggenheim Capital LLC Acquires 128,507 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 81.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 286,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 128,507 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Entergy worth $21,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ETR. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $175,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 181.5% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 14,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 9,227 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,981,611 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR traded up $0.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $83.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,228,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,693,272. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $83.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.56. Entergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $51.75 and a 12 month high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Entergy from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $86.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Six research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.25.

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.