Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 4,360,772 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 76.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,079,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,360,772 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 2.35% of Entergy worth $764,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. 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 buying an additional 172 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY grew its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Entergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Entergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $86.50 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.75.

Entergy Stock Down 5.4 %

ETR stock traded down $4.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.50. The company had a trading volume of 3,431,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,615,222. The company has a market capitalization of $34.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.56. Entergy Corporation has a 52 week low of $50.19 and a 52 week high of $88.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.41. 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 (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion during 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 period last year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.77%.

Entergy Company 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.