Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Increases Stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 1.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Entergy were worth $1,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versor Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 154.3% during the second quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 19,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. increased its stake in Entergy by 13.7% in the second quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 6,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $767,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 3.6% during the second quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 144,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,450,000 after purchasing an additional 4,962 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy during the second quarter valued at $956,000. Finally, LCM Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the second quarter worth about $229,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,638 shares of company stock worth $4,712,446. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ETR shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus upgraded Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.04.

Entergy Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $121.94 on Friday. Entergy Co. has a 52-week low of $87.10 and a 52-week high of $123.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $114.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.34%.

Entergy Company 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.