Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 1,800 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 100.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ETR. Hall Laurie J Trustee boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Entergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.75.

Entergy Price Performance

NYSE:ETR opened at $85.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.41 and a 200 day moving average of $76.13. Entergy Corporation has a 52-week low of $50.19 and a 52-week high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

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.