KBC Group NV Reduces Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

KBC Group NV cut its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 10.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,737 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Entergy were worth $2,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 6,028 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Entergy by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 670,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,869,000 after buying an additional 286,005 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Entergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,135,000. Horizon Investment Services LLC lifted its position in Entergy by 95.3% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 4,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 25.4% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 78,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,708,000 after buying an additional 15,892 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $82.15 on Friday. Entergy Corporation has a 52-week low of $52.07 and a 52-week high of $88.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.22. Entergy had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 11.43%. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Entergy in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Entergy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Entergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.25.

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.