Horizon Investments LLC Acquires 5,018 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 103.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,018 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 2.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 8,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Entergy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Entergy by 1.3% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp cut shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.11.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $84.75 on Thursday. Entergy Corporation has a one year low of $50.19 and a one year high of $88.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

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.