Allstate Corp Makes New Investment in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 12,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $978,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ETR. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY increased its stake in Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Price Performance

Entergy stock opened at $85.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $36.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.19 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.13.

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

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ETR shares. Scotiabank cut their target price on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.