Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases Shares of 278,229 Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 278,229 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $23,786,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.06% of Entergy as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 101.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,133,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,952,773,000 after buying an additional 26,312,267 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 11,042,159 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $837,216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,418,528 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Stock Performance

ETR traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,512,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,571,958. The stock has a market cap of $37.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $82.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.39. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $55.04 and a 12-month 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.22. Entergy had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 11.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Entergy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.46.

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.