Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys Shares of 2,449 Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 1.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 38,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,537,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 2,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,345 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 49,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total value of $874,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,019,247.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total transaction of $151,845.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,442 shares in the company, valued at $348,433.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 9,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,019,247.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $1,226,685 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

ETR traded up $1.56 on Tuesday, hitting $110.58. 2,138,457 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,449,087. Entergy Co. has a 52 week low of $87.10 and a 52 week high of $110.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.32.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.36). The firm had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ETR shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. 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. KeyCorp upped their target price on Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.45.

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.