California Public Employees Retirement System Boosts Stock Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 100.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,956,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 982,790 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.46% of Entergy worth $148,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY increased its stake in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its position in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $84.38 on Monday. Entergy Corporation has a twelve month low of $50.19 and a twelve month high of $88.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s payout ratio is 98.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ETR. UBS Group increased their price target on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.75.

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.