Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Shares Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 96.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,418 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,639 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $562,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy during the fourth quarter worth about $4,393,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,393 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 324.3% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 88.8% during the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 360,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,333,000 after purchasing an additional 169,511 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.75.

Entergy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $83.96 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $50.19 and a twelve month high of $88.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.17 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio 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.