Greenleaf Trust Increases Stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Entergy were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 50,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,817 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,904,933 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,950,000 after acquiring an additional 258,806 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 63,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,466,000 after acquiring an additional 10,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Brown Abbott Ltd grew its holdings in Entergy by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 932,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $94,351,000 after acquiring an additional 109,030 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $107.45 on Tuesday. Entergy Co. has a 1 year low of $87.10 and a 1 year high of $109.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $22.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.69, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $102.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.52. Entergy had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.54%. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. Analysts forecast that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.76%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total value of $874,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,019,247.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total value of $200,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares in the company, valued at $1,609,312.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total transaction of $874,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,019,247.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $1,226,685. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ETR shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Entergy in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.45.

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.