Wexford Capital LP Raises Stock Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Wexford Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 99.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,433 shares during the quarter. Wexford Capital LP’s holdings in Entergy were worth $1,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gen Wealth Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE ETR opened at $83.10 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $35.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.16. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $52.07 and a 1-year 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.22. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ETR. KeyCorp upgraded Entergy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.04.

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.