Principal Securities Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 118.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,038 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,667 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Entergy were worth $2,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Entergy by 110.3% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,343 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,741,000 after purchasing an additional 25,875 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its position in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,602 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 706 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in Entergy by 115.6% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 856 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

ETR stock traded down $0.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.94. The company had a trading volume of 4,755,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,839,319. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.30. The company has a market cap of $36.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. Entergy Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.80 and a twelve month high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Entergy's payout ratio is 98.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other Entergy news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Entergy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp cut shares of Entergy from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.14.

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.