Guidance Capital Inc. Sells 7,033 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Guidance Capital Inc. trimmed its holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 54.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,033 shares during the quarter. Guidance Capital Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ETR. Fox Hill Wealth Management raised its holdings in Entergy by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 10,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Entergy by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 20,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares during the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Entergy by 46.6% during the 1st quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Entergy during the 1st quarter worth about $3,714,000. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Entergy by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 125,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,273,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.23, for a total transaction of $165,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,260.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the company’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 owns 2,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,465.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.23, for a total value of $165,345.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $273,260.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Entergy from $107.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Entergy from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Entergy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $109.50 target price (down from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Entergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.73.

Entergy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ETR traded up $0.24 on Friday, hitting $107.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,553,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,242. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $108.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.31. Entergy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $87.10 and a fifty-two week high of $114.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly 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). Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.34%.

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.