National Pension Service Raises Position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 363,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,256 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.17% of Entergy worth $47,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Old North State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 24.5% during the third quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,752 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $212,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 110,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,586,000 after purchasing an additional 4,384 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC lifted its position in Entergy by 1.5% during the third quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 5,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy in the third quarter valued at $83,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $614,040. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $614,040. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total value of $398,320.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,288,742.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,338 shares of company stock valued at $4,460,238. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR traded up $0.04 on Thursday, hitting $146.10. 1,035,824 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,604,381. Entergy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $94.85 and a fifty-two week high of $156.85. The stock has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.27 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Entergy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ETR. StockNews.com cut Entergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lowered shares of Entergy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $138.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Monday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $150.96.

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.