Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Shares Sold by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 56.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 176,625 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Entergy worth $18,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ETR. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Entergy by 6.3% in 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 buying an additional 13,882 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 55.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 5,303 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Entergy in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,245,000. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 145.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 24,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,551,000 after purchasing an additional 14,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 6,197 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $144.79 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $129.72 and its 200-day moving average is $117.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. Entergy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $94.85 and a fifty-two week high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.27 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is 58.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,307,787.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $388,672.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,307,787.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,040. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.96.

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.