William Blair Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 81.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Entergy by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Entergy in the fourth quarter worth about $4,393,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 74.3% in 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 period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Entergy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,541,000. Finally, LaFleur & Godfrey LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $84.75 on Thursday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.73. Entergy Corporation has a 52 week low of $50.19 and a 52 week high of $88.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Entergy’s payout ratio is 98.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ETR. KeyCorp lowered Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.11.

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.