First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Buys 5,163 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 175.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,163 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Entergy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Entergy by 2,172.7% in the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in Entergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Entergy by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Stock Up 0.4 %

Entergy stock opened at $118.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy Co. has a 12-month low of $87.10 and a 12-month high of $123.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $111.00 and its 200 day moving average is $107.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.34%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on 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 owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Entergy news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the 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 directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,307,787.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ETR. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their price target on Entergy from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Entergy from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $109.50 price target (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.04.

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.