Norinchukin Bank The Boosts Stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 106.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,647 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in Entergy were worth $1,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Entergy by 101.9% in 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 during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,612,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $956,273,000 after acquiring an additional 5,998,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,236,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $774,103,000 after acquiring an additional 5,271,559 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 66.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,418,528 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Entergy by 76.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,079,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $764,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,360,772 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Price Performance

NYSE ETR traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.60. 2,697,771 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,670,462. Entergy Corporation has a 52-week low of $52.07 and a 52-week high of $88.38. The company has a market capitalization of $36.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.74, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.56. 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 is $83.51 and its 200-day moving average is $78.57.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ETR shares. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Entergy from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Five investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.25.

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.