Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 33,745 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 110.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 64,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,745 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $4,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Hall Laurie J Trustee boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 85.1% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.75.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $82.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $52.07 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.07 and a 200-day moving average of $79.58.

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

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is 77.92%.

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.