Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 2,703 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 29.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,703 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ETR. Fortis Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Entergy during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Entergy during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ETR shares. StockNews.com raised Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Six research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Entergy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $84.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $81.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.10. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.19 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38. The company has a market cap of $36.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,210.88. This trade represents a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.