Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Shares Purchased by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 100.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 9,574 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Entergy were worth $1,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 period. NBT Bank N A NY grew its position 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 buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Entergy in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ETR. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Entergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $86.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.61.

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Entergy Trading Up 1.6 %

Entergy stock traded up $1.28 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.29. 10,460,948 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,681,894. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $83.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.04. The company has a market capitalization of $34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.97, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.56. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $50.19 and a 52-week high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

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.