Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Trims Holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its position in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 21.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 28,055 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Entergy were worth $11,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Entergy by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,057 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the first quarter valued at $92,257,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 89.2% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,073,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,876,000 after buying an additional 506,239 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Entergy by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,753,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $290,963,000 after buying an additional 505,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Entergy by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,643,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $166,286,000 after buying an additional 448,134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.35.

Entergy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $130.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $118.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.12. Entergy Co. has a 52-week low of $87.10 and a 52-week high of $130.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $18,092,241.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,888 shares of company stock worth $5,110,766 in the last 90 days. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Entergy Company 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.