Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Buys 71,001 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 54.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 202,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,001 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Entergy were worth $15,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Entergy by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy in the third quarter valued at about $939,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 7.9% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 5.2% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 52,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,960,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 37,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,905,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ETR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.75.

Entergy Price Performance

Entergy stock opened at $84.38 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.75. 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 has a market capitalization of $36.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. Entergy Corporation has a one year low of $50.19 and a one year high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.77%.

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.