New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 82,802 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 84.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 180,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,802 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Entergy were worth $13,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ETR. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 21.4% during the 3rd 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 increased its stake in Entergy by 40.7% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 5,381 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Entergy by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,885,000 after acquiring an additional 10,697 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,393,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,393 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $84.94 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $36.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.80 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.67.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The business 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 10.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim upped their target price on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Insider Activity

In other Entergy news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,210.88. This trade represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by 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.