Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Shares Sold by Inspire Advisors LLC

Inspire Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 192 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in Entergy by 64.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,690,000 after buying an additional 1,630,057 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,961,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $400,901,000 after acquiring an additional 796,316 shares during the period. ClearBridge Investments Ltd raised its position in Entergy by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,115,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $315,254,000 after purchasing an additional 706,059 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Entergy by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,753,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $290,963,000 after purchasing an additional 505,705 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Entergy by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,259,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $238,828,000 after purchasing an additional 91,655 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $72,018.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,888 shares of company stock valued at $5,110,766 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

ETR opened at $127.09 on Friday. Entergy Co. has a 1-year low of $87.10 and a 1-year high of $127.34. The stock has a market cap of $27.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $109.50 price target (down from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.04.

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.