Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 10,579 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 86.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,579 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Entergy were worth $1,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $83.74 on Friday. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.19 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $82.90 and its 200 day moving average is $74.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market cap of $36.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.75.

Entergy Company 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.