Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,623 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 0.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 597,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,623 shares during the quarter. Entergy makes up about 1.5% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $78,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ETR. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Entergy in the third quarter worth about $230,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Entergy by 14.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Entergy by 21.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, Simmons Bank lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 22,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus upgraded Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Entergy from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.96.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of Entergy stock traded up $0.01 on Thursday, reaching $147.62. 35,837 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,604,276. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $133.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy Co. has a twelve month low of $96.15 and a twelve month high of $156.85. 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 (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.27 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.47%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total value of $398,320.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,288,742.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total transaction of $398,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,288,742.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,444.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,472 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,328. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.