YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 1,831 Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $194,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. TI Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Entergy by 35.0% in the first quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $923,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,107,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $108.16. The company had a trading volume of 2,132,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,519,998. Entergy Co. has a 12 month low of $87.10 and a 12 month high of $114.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $108.22 and its 200 day moving average is $103.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd were issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total value of $1,003,284.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares in the company, valued at $235,465.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 1,500 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.23, for a total value of $165,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,479 shares in the company, valued at $273,260.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total transaction of $1,003,284.59. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,465.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,729 shares of company stock worth $2,194,615 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Entergy from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Entergy from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Entergy from $107.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.50.

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.