Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $977,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Entergy during the 3rd quarter worth $175,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Entergy by 78.3% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Entergy by 4.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,885,000 after acquiring an additional 10,697 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 60.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Entergy by 171.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $84.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $52.07 and a 1-year high of $88.38. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.30.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ETR. UBS Group upped their target price on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank cut their price target 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. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Entergy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.75.

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.