LMR Partners LLP Raises Stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

LMR Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 366.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,161 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP's holdings in Entergy were worth $884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Entergy by 101.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,133,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,952,773,000 after acquiring an additional 26,312,267 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Entergy by 142.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,594,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,334,034,000 after purchasing an additional 10,347,926 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Entergy by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,884,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $976,895,000 after purchasing an additional 5,368,396 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,612,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $956,273,000 after purchasing an additional 5,998,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 11,042,159 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $837,216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,418,528 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Entergy Stock Up 1.6%

ETR traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.10. 2,444,486 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,693,014. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.80 billion, a PE ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.05. Entergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $52.07 and a 1 year high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.22. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on ETR shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Entergy from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.04.

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.