Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Increases Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 96.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,418 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,639 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its stake in shares of 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 position in shares of Entergy in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank lifted its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. KeyCorp downgraded Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. UBS Group increased their price target on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.75.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $83.96 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.59. 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 twelve month low of $50.19 and a twelve month high of $88.38. The company has a market cap of $36.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.86%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.