Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases New Shares in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 178,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,554,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBT Bank N A NY raised its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $82.56 on Tuesday. Entergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.19 and a 1 year high of $88.38. 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 cap of $35.56 billion, a PE ratio of 33.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.47.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Entergy’s payout ratio is 98.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ETR. Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.25.

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.