Entergy Corporation $ETR Stock Bought by Viking Fund Management LLC

Viking Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 247,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,000 shares during the period. Entergy accounts for approximately 2.0% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $24,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ETR. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Entergy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,861,376,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Entergy during the second quarter worth approximately $1,991,669,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy during the second quarter worth approximately $633,338,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Entergy during the second quarter worth approximately $430,404,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the second quarter valued at approximately $289,303,000. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Entergy

Here are the key news stories impacting Entergy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its long-term EPS forecasts for Entergy to $5.77 for FY2028, $6.49 for FY2029 and $7.32 for FY2030. The increases were modest but suggest improving confidence in the utility’s earnings growth. KeyCorp retained its Overweight rating and $118 price target.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating while setting a $130 price target, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. JPMorgan Entergy price target report
• Neutral Sentiment: Entergy marked the 25th anniversary of its Environmental Initiatives Fund, highlighting past environmental projects and sustainability efforts. The announcement may support the company’s reputation but is unlikely to materially change near-term earnings. Entergy Environmental Initiatives Fund announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks article identified Entergy among utilities that could potentially beat quarterly earnings estimates, but it provided no new company-specific earnings guidance or results. Zacks utilities earnings outlook
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp reduced its Entergy price target to $118 from $123, while JPMorgan lowered its target to $130 from $137. KeyBanc also cut its target to $118 from $123. Although the firms remain bullish, the reductions signal more cautious valuation assumptions and may weigh on the stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE:ETR opened at $104.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $48.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $104.44 and its 200-day moving average is $109.75. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $90.87 and a 1-year high of $118.44.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.02. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 13.40%. The business had revenue of $3.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Entergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 4.40 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th were given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is presently 65.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ETR. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Entergy from $123.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Entergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $123.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a report on Monday, August 17th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.58.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other Entergy news, Director Ralph Lewis Ropp purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $106.08 per share, with a total value of $106,080.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,423 shares in the company, valued at $363,111.84. The trade was a 41.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura R. Landreaux sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.20, for a total value of $594,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,398,951.80. This represents a 19.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Company Profile

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company that provides electric power and related services through regulated utility subsidiaries. Its operations include electricity generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas distribution and other utility services.

Entergy serves customers across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, including the city of New Orleans. The company operates a diverse generation portfolio that includes nuclear, natural gas, renewable and other resources, and it supplies electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and governmental customers.

Founded in 1949 as Middle South Utilities, the company adopted the Entergy name in 1994.