Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Grows Position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 525.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 55,965 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Entergy were worth $7,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ETR shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Entergy from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $109.50 price objective (down from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of Entergy 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at $614,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,888 shares of company stock valued at $5,110,766 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE ETR opened at $129.28 on Friday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $87.10 and a twelve month high of $129.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $118.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.81. The firm has a market cap of $27.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

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.