Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Grows Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 100.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 965,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 483,130 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Entergy worth $73,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Entergy by 423.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,210.88. This represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,032 shares in the company, valued at $300,444.48. This represents a 67.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ETR shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.81.

Entergy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of ETR opened at $82.37 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $35.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. Entergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $48.08 and a 12 month high of $84.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $77.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Entergy Announces Dividend

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

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.