Boston Partners Grows Stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Boston Partners grew its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 87.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,215,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,498,693 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.75% of Entergy worth $243,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,106,000. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 103.1% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 9,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 5,018 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,750,000 after purchasing an additional 49,516 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,920,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,762,000 after purchasing an additional 934,128 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 81.9% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Down 2.3 %

Entergy stock opened at $83.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.66. Entergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.19 and a 12 month high of $88.38. 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 (NYSE:ETR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company earned $0.26 EPS. Equities 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. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Six equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.11.

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.