Simmons Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Simmons Bank raised its holdings in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Entergy were worth $2,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Entergy by 21.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Entergy by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 179,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,925,000 after purchasing an additional 24,105 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Entergy in the first quarter worth about $358,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 6.0% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 40,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,246,000 after buying an additional 2,273 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ETR stock opened at $149.22 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $133.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.33. Entergy Co. has a 1-year low of $94.85 and a 1-year high of $156.85. The company has a market cap of $31.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 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) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ETR shares. Mizuho increased their price target on Entergy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $72,018.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $72,018.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,092,241.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.00, for a total transaction of $29,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $613,431. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,338 shares of company stock valued at $4,460,238. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.