The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 395,327 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 85.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 859,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 395,327 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.20% of Entergy worth $65,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Entergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $175,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Entergy by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in Entergy by 181.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 14,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 9,227 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Entergy by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $754,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Entergy from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Entergy from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued 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 $85.25.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $83.52 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $83.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.75. The company has a market cap of $35.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.56. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $52.07 and a twelve month high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.77%.

About Entergy

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.