Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Increases Stock Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 100.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 8,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in Entergy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in Entergy by 1.3% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised 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. KeyCorp lowered shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.75.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $82.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.15 and a 200-day moving average of $75.47. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $50.19 and a 12 month high of $88.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.72 billion, a PE ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced 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 return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.