Conning Inc. Makes New Investment in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Conning Inc. bought a new stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Entergy by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,840,000 after acquiring an additional 174,093 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 40.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 4.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,885,000 after purchasing an additional 10,697 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 11.4% during the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,795,000 after purchasing an additional 9,986 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new position in Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.81.

Entergy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of ETR stock opened at $82.37 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $35.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $48.08 and a fifty-two week high of $84.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.74.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.47%.

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.