Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. Sells 7,922 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Stock

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,029,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,090. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $129.75 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy Co. has a 52-week low of $87.10 and a 52-week high of $131.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $119.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.31. The company has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Research analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ETR. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Entergy by 2,172.7% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank lifted its position in Entergy by 93.7% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ETR. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $109.50 price target (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Barclays raised Entergy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.81.

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.