Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ETR. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank grew its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Entergy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.04.

Entergy Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Entergy stock traded down $0.73 on Tuesday, reaching $82.09. The company had a trading volume of 3,124,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,927,328. The firm has a market cap of $35.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.59. 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's 50-day moving average price is $82.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.11. Entergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $52.06 and a 1 year high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.92%.

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.