Pzena Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Pzena Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 96.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 106,979 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC's holdings in Entergy were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Entergy by 4.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,885,000 after purchasing an additional 10,697 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Entergy by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 38,895 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,119,000 after purchasing an additional 6,505 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Entergy by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 44,802 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,896,000 after purchasing an additional 6,929 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in Entergy by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 3,182 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $82.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.19 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38. The stock has a market cap of $35.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $81.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.81.

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Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.11.

About Entergy

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.

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