The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 85.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 859,119 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 395,327 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.20% of Entergy worth $65,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ETR. Hall Laurie J Trustee grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 450 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Entergy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY increased its stake in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its position in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 374 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Entergy Stock Up 1.3 %

ETR stock traded up $1.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.47. 2,919,786 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,684,227. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.02. Entergy Corporation has a 12 month low of $52.07 and a 12 month high of $88.38. 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 company has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Entergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $86.50 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Five 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Entergy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.75.

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.