Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ETR. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Entergy by 157.1% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Entergy in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.45.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $110.58 on Wednesday. Entergy Co. has a one year low of $87.10 and a one year high of $110.72. The stock has a market cap of $23.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $104.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,312.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total value of $200,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,312.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total transaction of $1,003,284.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,465.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,229 shares of company stock worth $2,229,970. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.