Kentucky Retirement Systems Reduces Position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,196 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Entergy were worth $1,960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Entergy by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $693,260,000 after buying an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,057 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 185.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,419 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $741,135,000 after purchasing an additional 763,834 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy by 89.2% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,073,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,876,000 after purchasing an additional 506,239 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $149.12 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $135.02 and a 200-day moving average of $120.19. Entergy Co. has a 52-week low of $96.15 and a 52-week high of $156.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is 58.47%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,140,475.85. This trade represents a 11.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. This represents a 50.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,472 shares of company stock worth $5,076,328. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Entergy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.96.

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.