Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Shares Bought by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 94.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,849 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in Entergy were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Entergy by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $754,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,611 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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. grew its holdings in Entergy by 60.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,589,727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $472,444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,355 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 96.0% during the fourth 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. raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR traded down $1.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $85.82. 4,006,557 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,811,568. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.19. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.80 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.80 billion, a PE ratio of 35.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.75%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective 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. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Entergy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Entergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $86.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Six equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.14.

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.