Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Shares Purchased by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,943 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $2,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Entergy by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Entergy by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. raised its holdings in Entergy by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 3,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Entergy by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $612,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Entergy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $100.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.57. Entergy Co. has a 1 year low of $87.10 and a 1 year high of $109.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.27 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ETR shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total transaction of $874,140.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,911 shares in the company, valued at $1,019,247.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Entergy news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total value of $874,140.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,911 shares in the company, valued at $1,019,247.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $200,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,312.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $1,226,685 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Entergy Profile

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.