Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 91.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 866,769 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 414,549 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.20% of Entergy worth $65,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,077 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 6,028 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Entergy during the fourth quarter worth about $4,393,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 74.3% during the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 3,393 shares during the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC acquired a new position in Entergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $217,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted 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 buying an additional 286,005 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the topic of several recent research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Entergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $86.50 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Entergy from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.25.

Entergy Stock Up 0.6 %

ETR stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Monday, hitting $85.10. 3,018,592 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,667,854. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.57. Entergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $52.07 and a 1 year 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 firm has a market capitalization of $36.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.95, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Entergy's payout ratio is 98.77%.

About Entergy

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.