Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 934,128 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 94.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,920,674 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 934,128 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.45% of Entergy worth $145,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ETR. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY increased its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during 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 last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 364 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company's stock.

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Entergy Price Performance

Shares of Entergy stock traded down $0.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $83.74. 9,132,300 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,326,732. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $50.19 and a 1-year high of $88.38. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $82.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.96. 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 cap of $36.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 98.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ETR. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $86.50 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.75.

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.