CENTRAL TRUST Co Grows Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 99.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,618 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Entergy were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $754,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,611 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Entergy by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,589,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $472,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,355 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Entergy by 96.0% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,607,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $121,863,000 after purchasing an additional 787,367 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Entergy by 1,490.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 687,874 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,155,000 after purchasing an additional 644,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Entergy by 16,409.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 466,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,424,000 after purchasing an additional 463,889 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:ETR opened at $81.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.89. Entergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $48.08 and a 1 year high of $84.26.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America cut Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Entergy from $68.50 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total transaction of $616,090.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,444.48. This trade represents a 67.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Entergy Company 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.