Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Shares Bought by ClearBridge Investments Ltd

ClearBridge Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 89.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,426,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,559,817 shares during the period. Entergy makes up approximately 10.8% of ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s holdings in Entergy were worth $411,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 101.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,133,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,952,773,000 after purchasing an additional 26,312,267 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 11,042,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $837,216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,418,528 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Entergy by 105.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,363,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $558,279,000 after acquiring an additional 3,773,492 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Entergy in the fourth quarter valued at about $259,944,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,981,611 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.75.

Entergy Stock Up 0.4 %

Entergy stock opened at $84.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. Entergy Corporation has a 52-week low of $50.19 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $83.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.86.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s payout ratio is 98.77%.

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.