William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 1,310 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 81.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing 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.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Entergy by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 124,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,467,000 after acquiring an additional 61,877 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 4,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,461 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 152.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 3,991 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 199.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 4,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings in Entergy by 133.1% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 67,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,125,000 after buying an additional 38,596 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE:ETR opened at $84.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $82.59 and its 200 day moving average is $74.73. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.19 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38. 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 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. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. KeyCorp cut shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.