Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Barclays upped their price target on Entergy from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,092,241.93. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,444.48. The trade was a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,472 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,328. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Up 1.4 %

ETR stock opened at $149.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.10. The stock has a market cap of $31.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $96.15 and a fifty-two week high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

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

Entergy Company 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.