Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Holdings Raised by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $1,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ETR. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 6.3% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 234,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,275,000 after acquiring an additional 13,882 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 55.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 5,303 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 1st quarter worth $1,245,000. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 145.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 24,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,551,000 after buying an additional 14,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 17.5% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 41,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,397,000 after acquiring an additional 6,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total value of $398,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,288,742.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total value of $398,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,288,742.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total transaction of $2,310,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,140,475.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,338 shares of company stock valued at $4,460,238 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

ETR stock opened at $148.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.56. Entergy Co. has a 52 week low of $94.85 and a 52 week high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.27 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Entergy from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.96.

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.