Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stock Holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 307.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,624 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $5,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Entergy by 47.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075,776 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,057 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 185.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,419 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 12.4% in the second 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. lifted its position in Entergy by 89.2% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,073,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,876,000 after buying an additional 506,239 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on ETR. Scotiabank raised their target price on Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Argus raised shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. 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 report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Entergy from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Entergy from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,092,241.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,307,787.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,092,241.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $134.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $128.17 and a 200 day moving average of $116.43. Entergy Co. has a 12 month low of $92.31 and a 12 month high of $138.24.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a positive change from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.07%.

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.