Renaissance Technologies LLC Reduces Stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 72.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 163,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 434,718 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Entergy worth $17,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Entergy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 739,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,781,000 after buying an additional 3,596 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at $125,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 22,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,342 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 27,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ETR shares. Argus raised Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho increased their target price on Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.35.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR stock opened at $129.25 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average is $118.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.87. Entergy Co. has a 1 year low of $87.10 and a 1 year high of $129.70.

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

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total value of $398,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,288,742.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,888 shares of company stock worth $5,110,766. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.