Cetera Investment Advisers Reduces Stake in Entergy Corporation $ETR

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 215,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 45,175 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Entergy were worth $17,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares during the period. First American Trust FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy in the first quarter worth $3,896,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Entergy during the first quarter valued at $32,658,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Entergy by 26.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 96,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,219,000 after buying an additional 19,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Entergy by 369.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 86,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,352,000 after buying an additional 67,696 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, insider Anastasia Minor sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total value of $481,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $975,659.58. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ralph Lewis Ropp acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $96.69 per share, with a total value of $96,690.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,524.50. This trade represents a 2,000.00% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 10,179 shares of company stock valued at $981,707 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ETR. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Entergy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Entergy in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $106.00 price target (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Entergy from $91.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.59.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $94.54 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $42.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.34, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $94.21 and its 200 day moving average is $88.27. Entergy Corporation has a 52 week low of $73.15 and a 52 week high of $98.58.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 14.26%. Research analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. This is a positive change from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is 63.21%.

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.