HM Payson & Co. Sells 511 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

HM Payson & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 19.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 511 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in Entergy by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 2.3% in the second quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Entergy by 3.7% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Entergy by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its position in Entergy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Trading Down 6.5 %

Entergy stock opened at $144.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $129.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.12. Entergy Co. has a one year low of $94.85 and a one year high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.27 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 58.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ETR shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Entergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at $4,363,182.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Entergy 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 transaction of $72,018.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. 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 have sold 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by 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.