Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Shares Sold by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lowered its holdings in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 34.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,284 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Entergy were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Alliance raised its position in Entergy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 8,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its position in Entergy by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC raised its position in Entergy by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 4,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total transaction of $1,003,284.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares in the company, valued at $235,465.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total transaction of $1,003,284.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,465.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.23, for a total transaction of $165,345.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,479 shares in the company, valued at $273,260.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Entergy Price Performance

Entergy stock opened at $105.81 on Friday. Entergy Co. has a 1 year low of $87.10 and a 1 year high of $114.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $108.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.13. The company has a market cap of $22.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.36). Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. Entergy’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $109.50 price target (down from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $107.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 price target on shares of Entergy in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.12.

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.