Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 8,909 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management Ltd reduced its stake in Entergy Corporation by 3.0%, selling 8,909 shares, leaving them with 290,596 shares valued at approximately $24.84 million.
• Institutional investors own 88.07% of Entergy's stock, with significant increases in stakes noted from Brighton Jones LLC and Aviva PLC among others.
• Entergy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, translating to an annualized basis of $2.40, with a dividend yield of 2.7%.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 290,596 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,909 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.07% of Entergy worth $24,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 275.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,176 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 6,733 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 6,720 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 3,360 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 126.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 62,017 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,702,000 after acquiring an additional 34,668 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,554,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 266.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 29,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 21,106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total transaction of $403,901.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,279. This represents a 57.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective (up from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $97.00 price objective on Entergy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Entergy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Entergy from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Entergy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.07.

Entergy Stock Down 0.1%

ETR stock opened at $90.44 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $84.36 and its 200 day moving average is $83.49. Entergy Corporation has a one year low of $57.65 and a one year high of $92.40. The firm has a market cap of $40.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.14. Entergy had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 11.52%. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy's payout ratio is presently 59.85%.

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.

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