Platform Technology Partners Purchases 2,034 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Platform Technology Partners lifted its position in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 100.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,034 shares during the period. Platform Technology Partners’ holdings in Entergy were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,840,000 after buying an additional 174,093 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Entergy by 40.7% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 5,381 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Entergy by 4.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,885,000 after acquiring an additional 10,697 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Entergy by 11.4% in the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,795,000 after purchasing an additional 9,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new position in Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,541,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $82.37 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.46. Entergy Corporation has a 52 week low of $48.08 and a 52 week high of $84.26. The company has a market cap of $35.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp lowered shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,210.88. This represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,032 shares in the company, valued at $300,444.48. This trade represents a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.