Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Shares Purchased by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 93.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 317,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 153,027 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. owned 0.07% of Entergy worth $24,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,133,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,952,773,000 after acquiring an additional 26,312,267 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Entergy by 53.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Entergy by 87.3% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,215,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,498,693 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,423,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $183,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 105.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,748,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $208,416,000 after buying an additional 1,408,476 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $82.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.19 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The company has a market cap of $35.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ETR shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.75.

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.