Qtron Investments LLC Grows Stock Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Qtron Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 38.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,131 shares during the quarter. Qtron Investments LLC's holdings in Entergy were worth $860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Entergy by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,133,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,952,773,000 after purchasing an additional 26,312,267 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,612,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $956,273,000 after buying an additional 5,998,760 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 11,042,159 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $837,216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,418,528 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,236,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $774,103,000 after acquiring an additional 5,271,559 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Entergy by 76.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,079,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $764,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,360,772 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ETR shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Entergy from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Six equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.25.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR stock traded up $0.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $83.11. The company had a trading volume of 3,228,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,692,924. Entergy Corporation has a 52 week low of $51.17 and a 52 week high of $88.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.56. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $83.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.66.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Entergy's dividend payout ratio 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.