Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 21.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 528 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simmons Bank raised its position in Entergy by 1.0% in the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 22,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,976,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. First Heartland Consultants Inc. purchased a new position in Entergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in Entergy by 196.7% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 7,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 5,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $116.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.42.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,444.48. This represents a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.00, for a total value of $29,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $613,431. The trade was a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,472 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,328 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $149.83 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.78. Entergy Co. has a twelve month low of $96.15 and a twelve month high of $156.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

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

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Entergy’s payout ratio is 58.47%.

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.