BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Grows Stock Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,287 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $4,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 2.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Entergy by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 5,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 2.3% in the second quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Entergy by 3.7% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ETR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Argus upgraded Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.42.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE:ETR opened at $151.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $32.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.65. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $96.15 and a 1-year high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.27 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 58.47%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total transaction of $2,310,720.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. This trade represents a 11.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at $614,040. This represents a 50.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,472 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,328 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Company 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.