HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 44,083 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 100.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 44,083 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $6,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 0.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,065,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of ETR stock opened at $83.46 on Wednesday. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.19 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The company has a market capitalization of $35.92 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $82.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ETR. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.