Brandes Investment Partners LP Has $34.78 Million Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 47.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 458,764 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 146,724 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned about 0.11% of Entergy worth $34,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 172 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its position in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Entergy by 100.0% during 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, Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $85.00 on Friday. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.19 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $82.07 and its 200 day moving average is $74.11. The company has a market capitalization of $36.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ETR shares. Evercore ISI lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.11.

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.