Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Shares Acquired by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Entergy by 2,172.7% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank increased its position in shares of Entergy by 93.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy during the second quarter worth $34,000. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ETR opened at $130.04 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.12. Entergy Co. has a 12-month low of $87.10 and a 12-month high of $130.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $27.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued 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 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Entergy from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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 note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upgraded shares of Entergy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. 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. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.