Millennium Management LLC Acquires 1,219,419 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 185.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,219,419 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $200,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $693,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,776 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Entergy by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,057 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Entergy during the 1st quarter valued at about $92,257,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $741,135,000 after purchasing an additional 763,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,073,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,876,000 after purchasing an additional 506,239 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $72,018.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,092,241.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,307,787.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,810 shares of company stock valued at $6,140,626. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Entergy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $115.00 to $138.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.81.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $129.58 on Friday. Entergy Co. has a 1-year low of $87.10 and a 1-year high of $131.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $119.80 and its 200 day moving average is $111.44. The company has a market cap of $27.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

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.