Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Shares Purchased by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 77.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 820,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 357,052 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.19% of Entergy worth $62,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy in the third quarter worth about $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY raised its position 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 buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Up 1.4 %

Entergy stock opened at $84.05 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.53. The firm has a market cap of $36.20 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. Entergy Corporation has a twelve month low of $50.19 and a twelve month high of $88.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72.

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

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ETR. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six 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.com, Entergy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.