Entergy Corporation $ETR Holdings Trimmed by Providence First Trust Co

Key Points

• Providence First Trust cut its Entergy stake by 78.1% in the third quarter, leaving it with 2,874 shares valued at about $285,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.
• Entergy beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.98 versus analysts’ $1.73 estimate and revenue of $4.37 billion versus $4.12 billion forecast. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a $121.57 target price.
• Entergy raised its quarterly dividend from $0.64 to $0.68 per share, equivalent to $2.72 annually and a 2.5% yield.

Providence First Trust Co cut its stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 78.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,874 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,277 shares during the period. Providence First Trust Co's holdings in Entergy were worth $285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Entergy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. City State Bank boosted its position in Entergy by 439.6% in the 3rd quarter. City State Bank now owns 259 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in Entergy in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 303.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 266 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Entergy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Bank of America raised their price target on Entergy from $112.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Entergy from $122.00 to $121.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Entergy from $124.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $124.00 price objective (up from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Tuesday. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $121.57.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, insider Laura Landreaux sold 5,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.20, for a total value of $594,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,398,951.80. This represents a 19.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $110.42 on Friday. Entergy Corporation has a 52-week low of $90.87 and a 52-week high of $118.44. The stock has a market cap of $52.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $104.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 11.44%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Entergy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Entergy's payout ratio is presently 62.53%.

About Entergy

Entergy Corporation is an investor-owned energy company headquartered in New Orleans. Its primary business is providing regulated electric utility service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Through its utility subsidiaries, Entergy serves communities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Its operations include generating, transmitting and distributing electricity, with power produced from a mix of sources that includes nuclear energy.

The company traces its corporate history to Middle South Utilities, which adopted the Entergy name in 1989.

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