Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Acquires 11,925 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 763,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,925 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.36% of Entergy worth $77,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ETR. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 1.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 38,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,537,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 595,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,273,000 after purchasing an additional 9,696 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its position in Entergy by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 159,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,129,000 after purchasing an additional 35,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Entergy by 464.4% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 12,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 9,910 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ETR. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Entergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.45.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETR traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $107.34. 319,715 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,415,132. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.85. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $87.10 and a 1-year high of $108.81. The company has a market cap of $22.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.36). The business had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. Entergy’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total value of $151,845.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,433.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total value of $200,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,312.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total value of $151,845.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,442 shares in the company, valued at $348,433.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,226,685 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company 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.