AGF Management Ltd. Grows Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 310.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,152 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $5,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Entergy by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,408,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,501,509,000 after acquiring an additional 128,667 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 5.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,613,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $870,422,000 after acquiring an additional 315,750 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 53.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $754,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,611 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,965,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $651,206,000 after acquiring an additional 37,279 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in 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 during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the 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 owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,210.88. This represents a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Entergy Stock Performance

ETR opened at $82.70 on Thursday. Entergy Corporation has a 52-week low of $50.19 and a 52-week high of $88.38. 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 $35.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.87.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ETR. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank decreased 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

Entergy 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.