Choreo LLC Makes New Investment in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in Entergy by 6.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 234,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,275,000 after buying an additional 13,882 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 55,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,592,000 after acquiring an additional 5,509 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $127,675,000. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in Entergy during the fourth quarter valued at about $15,783,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Entergy by 55.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 5,303 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ETR. Barclays upgraded shares of Entergy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $115.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Entergy from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Entergy from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $109.50 target price (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.35.

Entergy Stock Performance

Entergy stock opened at $129.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.37. Entergy Co. has a twelve month low of $87.10 and a twelve month high of $129.66. The company has a market capitalization of $27.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. 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 posted 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. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. Research analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders 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 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In related news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,888 shares of company stock worth $5,110,766. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.