Private Trust Co. NA Increases Stock Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 114.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,522 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Entergy were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First American Bank boosted its stake in Entergy by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. First American Bank now owns 27,356 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,074,000 after buying an additional 13,824 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Entergy by 398.3% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 228,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,297,000 after buying an additional 107,856 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. purchased a new position in Entergy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,128,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 125.9% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 289,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,926,000 after purchasing an additional 161,153 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Up 2.4 %

ETR stock opened at $87.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.80 and a twelve month high of $88.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $80.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.63. The stock has a market cap of $37.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETR has been the topic of several research reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America cut shares of Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,210.88. This trade represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.