Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 298 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Alliance raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 8,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Entergy by 5.1% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in Entergy by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total value of $151,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,442 shares in the company, valued at $348,433.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Entergy news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $200,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,312.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total transaction of $151,845.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,433.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,229 shares of company stock worth $2,229,970 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Entergy in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.45.

Entergy Stock Performance

Entergy stock opened at $110.58 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.40 and a 200-day moving average of $101.44. The firm has a market cap of $23.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.69. Entergy Co. has a 1-year low of $87.10 and a 1-year high of $110.72.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.34%.

Entergy Company 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.