Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 102,644 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 812,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 102,644 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Entergy were worth $86,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ETR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Entergy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 739,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,781,000 after buying an additional 3,596 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Entergy during the fourth quarter worth $125,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 22,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,342 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 27,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,307,787.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,888 shares of company stock valued at $5,110,766. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE:ETR opened at $129.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. Entergy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $87.10 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The company has a market cap of $27.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.87.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is presently 45.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ETR. Mizuho lifted their price target on Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.35.

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.