HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 44,083 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 100.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,083 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $6,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Entergy in the fourth quarter valued at $4,393,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 74.3% during the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,393 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy during the third quarter valued at $32,541,000. Finally, LaFleur & Godfrey LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ETR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.11.

Entergy Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $83.46 on Wednesday. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.19 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.66.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

About Entergy

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.