Patton Fund Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 85,512 Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 85,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,484,000. Entergy comprises about 1.3% of Patton Fund Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,981,611 shares during the period. 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. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,607,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $121,863,000 after purchasing an additional 787,367 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 1,490.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 687,874 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,155,000 after acquiring an additional 644,622 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Entergy by 16,409.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 466,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,424,000 after purchasing an additional 463,889 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ETR. StockNews.com raised Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total transaction of $616,090.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,444.48. This represents a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at $292,210.88. This trade represents a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,756 shares of company stock worth $1,095,637. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Entergy Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of ETR stock opened at $81.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Entergy Corporation has a 52 week low of $48.08 and a 52 week high of $84.26.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.