SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Stock Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 280.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,468 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Entergy were worth $718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Entergy by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $129,840,000 after acquiring an additional 174,093 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Entergy by 4.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,885,000 after purchasing an additional 10,697 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,795,000 after purchasing an additional 9,986 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new position in Entergy in the third quarter valued at about $32,541,000. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ETR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $86.50 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Entergy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Entergy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 400 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total transaction of $29,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $613,431. This trade represents a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $292,210.88. This trade represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,756 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,637. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE:ETR traded up $1.96 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $81.20. The company had a trading volume of 3,595,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,946,944. The business's 50 day moving average price is $77.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.42. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $48.08 and a 1-year high of $84.26. The firm has a market cap of $34.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.04. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

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.