Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Shares Acquired by Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 15.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,714 shares during the quarter. Entergy makes up about 1.2% of Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $6,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Entergy by 64.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,057 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $127,675,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Entergy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $92,257,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Entergy by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,961,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $400,901,000 after purchasing an additional 796,316 shares during the period. Finally, ClearBridge Investments Ltd grew its stake in Entergy by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,115,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,254,000 after buying an additional 706,059 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ETR shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Entergy from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Entergy from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.04.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $121.90. 1,523,795 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,521,238. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $26.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.14. Entergy Co. has a twelve month low of $87.10 and a twelve month high of $123.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. 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 related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,638 shares of company stock worth $4,712,446. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.