Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 39.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 44,617 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Entergy were worth $7,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Entergy by 21.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Entergy by 0.5% during the second quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,367,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Entergy by 40.0% during the first quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Entergy by 1.3% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust grew its position in Entergy by 0.6% during the second quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 20,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,198,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total transaction of $398,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,742.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total value of $398,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,288,742.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,888 shares of company stock valued at $5,110,766 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $127.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $27.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.98. Entergy Co. has a 1 year low of $87.10 and a 1 year high of $127.34.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. The business 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on ETR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank increased their price target 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $109.50 price target (down from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.04.

About Entergy

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.