Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 563 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 563 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Entergy were worth $6,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,038,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,408,582,000 after purchasing an additional 104,803 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Entergy by 64.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,562,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $422,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787,977 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 1.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,506,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $416,883,000 after purchasing an additional 48,047 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,904,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,950,000 after purchasing an additional 258,806 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Entergy by 16.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,506,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $231,807,000 after purchasing an additional 352,847 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock traded down $1.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $106.52. 787,948 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,413,035. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $103.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy Co. has a twelve month low of $87.10 and a twelve month high of $108.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total value of $151,845.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,442 shares in the company, valued at $348,433.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Entergy news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total value of $200,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,312.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total value of $151,845.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,433.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $1,226,685 in the last ninety days. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.45.

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.