Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Makes New Investment in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP acquired a new position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $399,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ETR. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the period. Ziegler Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 21,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 9,577 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $135,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 24,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,734 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays dropped their target price on Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Entergy in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.45.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $200,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,312.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $200,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,312.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total value of $151,845.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,433.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,226,685. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ETR traded down $0.72 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $106.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,446,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,411,738. Entergy Co. has a 12 month low of $87.10 and a 12 month high of $109.53. The company has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $102.96 and its 200 day moving average is $100.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.27). Entergy had a return on equity of 10.54% and a net margin of 19.41%. The firm had revenue of $31.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.76%.

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.