Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 230.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 96,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 67,352 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Entergy were worth $7,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ETR. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp raised Entergy from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.04.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $81.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,735,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,626,712. The company has a market capitalization of $35.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $52.07 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The company's 50-day moving average is $82.61 and its 200 day moving average is $80.93.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 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 earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Entergy's payout ratio is 77.92%.

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.