ProVise Management Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

ProVise Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 92.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 75,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,239 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $5,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 87.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,215,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,498,693 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Entergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,106,000. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in Entergy by 103.1% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 9,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 5,018 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Entergy by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 89,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,750,000 after purchasing an additional 49,516 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Entergy by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,920,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $145,762,000 after purchasing an additional 934,128 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of ETR stock opened at $83.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $35.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. Entergy Corporation has a 52 week low of $50.19 and a 52 week high of $88.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.66.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ETR. StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.11.

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.