Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 300,708 Shares of Entergy Corporation $ETR

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 29.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,317,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 300,708 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $109,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 275.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 6,733 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Entergy in the first quarter worth approximately $367,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $97.49 on Friday. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $73.15 and a 1-year high of $98.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average is $95.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.63.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 14.26%. As a group, research analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 63.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Entergy from $91.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Entergy to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Entergy in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 5,136 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.50, for a total transaction of $495,624.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,253.50. The trade was a 39.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anastasia Minor sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $481,950.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $975,659.58. This represents a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,179 shares of company stock valued at $981,707. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.