Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 3,233 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 51.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,233 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $1,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Entergy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 2,172.7% in the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. American National Bank grew its position in Entergy by 93.7% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Trading Up 15.1 %

NYSE ETR opened at $154.75 on Friday. Entergy Co. has a one year low of $94.63 and a one year high of $156.85. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.74.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 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 company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is 54.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus raised Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.