Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Shares Purchased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 28.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after acquiring an additional 6,028 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy during the 4th quarter valued at $4,393,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy during the fourth quarter valued at $217,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 74.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 670,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,869,000 after purchasing an additional 286,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its stake in Entergy by 88.8% in the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 360,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,333,000 after acquiring an additional 169,511 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on ETR shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp raised shares of Entergy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Entergy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.04.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $82.11 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $52.07 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.06.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.92%.

Entergy 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.