Entergy Corporation $ETR Stock Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management reduced its Entergy stake by 4.8% in the third quarter, selling 50,951 shares and retaining 1,009,045 shares valued at approximately $100.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 88.07% of Entergy.
• Entergy shares recently traded at $101.28, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.03, slightly exceeding estimates, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.64, yielding about 2.5% annually.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $120.47, although one analyst downgraded the stock to “sell.”

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,009,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 50,951 shares during the period. Entergy comprises about 1.2% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned 0.22% of Entergy worth $100,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Entergy by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Entergy by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,537 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Entergy by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,778 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Entergy by 8.2% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 81,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,365,000 after acquiring an additional 6,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock traded up $0.37 on Monday, hitting $101.28. 608,666 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,999,087. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company's fifty day moving average is $105.42 and its 200 day moving average is $109.74. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $90.87 and a 1-year high of $118.44. The company has a market capitalization of $47.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.46.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.02. Entergy had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $3.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Entergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 13th were issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura Landreaux sold 5,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 $2,398,951.80. This represents a 19.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ralph Lewis Ropp purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $106.08 per share, for a total transaction of $106,080.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $363,111.84. This represents a 41.27% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Entergy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $126.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Entergy in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Mizuho set a $122.00 target price on shares of Entergy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $129.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.47.

Entergy Profile

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company that provides electric power and related services through regulated utility subsidiaries. Its operations include electricity generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas distribution and other utility services.

Entergy serves customers across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, including the city of New Orleans. The company operates a diverse generation portfolio that includes nuclear, natural gas, renewable and other resources, and it supplies electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and governmental customers.

Founded in 1949 as Middle South Utilities, the company adopted the Entergy name in 1994.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.