MetLife Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 104.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,870 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $8,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ETR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Entergy by 101.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,133,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,952,773,000 after acquiring an additional 26,312,267 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,612,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $956,273,000 after purchasing an additional 5,998,760 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,236,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $774,103,000 after purchasing an additional 5,271,559 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 11,042,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $837,216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,418,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Entergy by 76.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,079,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $764,238,000 after purchasing an additional 4,360,772 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $80.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.56. Entergy Corporation has a 52 week low of $51.75 and a 52 week high of $88.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.04. 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 (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The firm 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 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Entergy from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.25.

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.