Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Invests $3.93 Million in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 51,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,934,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Entergy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in Entergy by 423.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Entergy in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Trading Up 0.3 %

ETR opened at $85.51 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $36.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.12, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72. Entergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.80 and a 12 month high of $88.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.05.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ETR shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lowered shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,210.88. This represents a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.