First County Bank CT Decreases Stock Position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

First County Bank CT cut its stake in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,042 shares during the quarter. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Entergy were worth $693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ETR. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 13,882 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew 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. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the fourth quarter valued at about $15,783,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 55.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 5,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 6.3% during the first quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 125,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,273,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $129.58 on Friday. Entergy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $87.10 and a fifty-two week high of $131.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.56. The stock has a market cap of $27.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated 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 $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Entergy news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,029,860.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,090. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction 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 approximately $18,307,787.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ETR. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Entergy from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.81.

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.