Shepherd Financial Partners LLC Increases Stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Shepherd Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 102.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,468 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $1,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Entergy by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $754,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,611 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 139.5% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,423,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $183,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411,473 shares in the last quarter. 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 holdings in Entergy by 96.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,607,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $121,863,000 after acquiring an additional 787,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in 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 valued at $52,155,000 after purchasing an additional 644,622 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of ETR stock opened at $82.37 on Friday. Entergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $48.08 and a 12 month high of $84.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of $35.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s payout ratio is 58.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ETR. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at $292,210.88. This represents a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total transaction of $616,090.02. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.