Hartree Partners LP Buys Shares of 80,000 Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Hartree Partners LP purchased a new position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 80,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,066,000. Entergy makes up 2.3% of Hartree Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Entergy by 101.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,133,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,952,773,000 after buying an additional 26,312,267 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 11,042,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $837,216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,418,528 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Entergy by 105.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,363,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $558,279,000 after purchasing an additional 3,773,492 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Entergy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $259,944,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $754,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,611 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $84.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.86. Entergy Corporation has a 52-week low of $50.19 and a 52-week high of $88.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.75.

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.