Prospera Financial Services Inc Has $1.26 Million Stock Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Prospera Financial Services Inc cut its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 745 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Entergy were worth $1,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 55.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after buying an additional 5,303 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 145.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 24,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,551,000 after acquiring an additional 14,293 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 21.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,840,000 after purchasing an additional 174,093 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 11.4% during the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,795,000 after purchasing an additional 9,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Entergy by 19.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 28,498 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,049,000 after purchasing an additional 4,616 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ETR shares. Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Entergy from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.42.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR stock opened at $151.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $137.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Entergy Corporation has a 12-month low of $96.15 and a 12-month high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.27 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is presently 58.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. This represents a 50.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,092,241.93. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,472 shares of company stock worth $5,076,328. 0.39% of the stock is currently 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.