Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 42,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,503,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 64.2% in the first 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Entergy by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,961,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $400,901,000 after buying an additional 796,316 shares in the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd increased its position in shares of Entergy by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,115,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,254,000 after purchasing an additional 706,059 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Entergy by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,753,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $290,963,000 after buying an additional 505,705 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,259,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $238,828,000 after buying an additional 91,655 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ETR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Entergy from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $109.50 price target (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.04.

Entergy Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE ETR traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $121.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,523,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,521,238. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $114.55 and a 200 day moving average of $109.14. Entergy Co. has a 1-year low of $87.10 and a 1-year high of $123.73.

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

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.34%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,638 shares of company stock worth $4,712,446. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.