Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Entergy Corporation $ETR

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management cut its Entergy stake by 13.7% in the first quarter, selling 223,691 shares and leaving it with 1.41 million shares valued at about $158.6 million.
• Analyst sentiment on Entergy (NYSE: ETR) remains mostly positive, with 17 Buy ratings and an average Moderate Buy consensus target of $119.68. Several firms recently lifted their price targets, though Barclays trimmed its target slightly.
• Entergy reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.86 EPS on revenue of $3.19 billion, and the stock recently traded near its 52-week high at $115.22.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,411,147 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 223,691 shares during the quarter. Entergy makes up approximately 2.2% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.31% of Entergy worth $158,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Community Bank boosted its position in Entergy by 806.7% during the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 272 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 119.4% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 283 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Union Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Entergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy by 306.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 341 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Entergy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Entergy from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on Entergy from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $121.00 target price (up from $116.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other Entergy news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 10,638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $1,170,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 14,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,560,020. This trade represents a 42.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR stock traded up $1.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $115.22. The stock had a trading volume of 2,484,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,035,122. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.50. The company's 50-day moving average price is $112.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.18. Entergy Corporation has a twelve month low of $80.86 and a twelve month high of $118.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.02. Entergy had a net margin of 13.48% and a return on equity of 10.75%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Entergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Profile

Entergy Corporation NYSE: ETR is an integrated energy company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, that generates, transmits and distributes electricity. The company's operations combine regulated utility services with competitive power production, supplying retail electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers while also participating in wholesale energy markets. Entergy's generation fleet includes nuclear, natural gas, hydropower and other resources, and it operates a network of transmission and distribution assets to deliver power to end users.

Entergy conducts its regulated utility business through state-based operating subsidiaries that serve customers across parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and southeast Texas.

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