Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,226 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $2,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Entergy by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,879 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Entergy by 0.5% in the second quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,367,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Entergy by 40.0% during the first quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,140,475.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,888 shares of company stock valued at $5,110,766. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Entergy from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus raised Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.04.

Entergy Price Performance

Entergy stock opened at $127.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy Co. has a 12-month low of $87.10 and a 12-month high of $127.34.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

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.