Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 122.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 704,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 387,985 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $54,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Acropolis Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 8,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Hall Laurie J Trustee boosted its holdings in Entergy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Entergy by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY increased its stake in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Stock Performance

Entergy stock opened at $84.38 on Friday. Entergy Corporation has a 52 week low of $50.19 and a 52 week high of $88.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market cap of $36.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.34 and a 200-day moving average of $75.75.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The firm 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ETR shares. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.