Equitable Trust Co. Cuts Stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Equitable Trust Co. decreased its holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,347 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $5,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 423.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Entergy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Entergy by 2,172.7% in the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 93.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ETR. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Argus raised Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com raised Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,092,241.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,338 shares of company stock valued at $4,460,238. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR stock opened at $149.03 on Friday. 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 moving average price of $132.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.56. Entergy Co. has a 52-week low of $94.85 and a 52-week high of $156.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.05%.

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.