Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 5,368,396 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 71.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,884,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,368,396 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 3.00% of Entergy worth $976,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 364 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Entergy stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $83.95. The company had a trading volume of 3,609,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,673,381. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $36.16 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.33. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $52.07 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Entergy's payout ratio is 77.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.75.

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.