Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Purchases 120,030 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 102.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 236,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 120,030 shares during the period. Entergy comprises about 1.2% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $17,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ETR. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $754,318,000 after buying an additional 1,981,611 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Entergy by 87.3% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,215,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,867,000 after buying an additional 1,498,693 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,423,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $183,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411,473 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 105.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,748,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $208,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Entergy by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,589,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $472,444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,355 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Down 1.1 %

Entergy stock opened at $83.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.19 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $82.90 and its 200 day moving average is $74.96. The company has a market capitalization of $36.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. 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 payout ratio is 98.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ETR. 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.