Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Takes $465,000 Position in Entergy Corporation $ETR

Key Points

• Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. has acquired a stake in Entergy Corporation, purchasing 5,594 shares valued at approximately $465,000, marking a notable addition in the utilities sector.
• Entergy has reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.71 and a revenue of $2.37 billion, with analysts predicting an EPS of 3.88 for the current year.
• Entergy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60, representing an annualized dividend of $2.40 and a yield of 2.5%, with a payout ratio of 59.85%.

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $465,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the first quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its stake in Entergy by 135.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 330 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Entergy during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $95.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Entergy Corporation has a 1-year low of $66.75 and a 1-year high of $98.58. The stock has a market cap of $42.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $91.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.09.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 14.35%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ETR. Evercore ISI set a $98.00 target price on shares of Entergy and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Entergy in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho set a $97.00 target price on shares of Entergy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Entergy from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Entergy from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $403,901.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at $300,279. The trade was a 57.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

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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