Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 11,529 Shares of Entergy Corporation $ETR

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management cut its Entergy stake by 42.1% in the first quarter, selling 11,529 shares and leaving it with 15,884 shares valued at about $1.785 million.
• Entergy’s insider activity also showed selling, with Haley Fisackerly disposing of 10,638 shares in a Rule 10b5-1 transaction worth about $1.17 million.
• The utility reported better-than-expected Q1 results with EPS of $0.86 and revenue of $3.19 billion, and it recently paid a $0.64 quarterly dividend that implies a 2.2% yield.

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 42.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,884 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,529 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Entergy were worth $1,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ETR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 22,694,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,097,699,000 after buying an additional 8,046,287 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at $528,313,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Entergy by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,651,436 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $984,512,000 after buying an additional 1,986,369 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 89.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,866,426 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $357,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Entergy during the 4th quarter valued at $153,616,000. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 10,638 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $1,170,180.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 14,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,560,020. The trade was a 42.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $116.20 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average is $111.98 and its 200 day moving average is $104.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $53.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.50. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $80.11 and a fifty-two week high of $118.44.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 13.48% and a return on equity of 10.75%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. Entergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Entergy from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Entergy from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $123.00 price objective (up from $118.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $126.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $122.00 target price on shares of Entergy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.68.

About Entergy

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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