Foster & Motley Inc. Decreases Holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Foster & Motley Inc. lowered its position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,187 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $1,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 16,077 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 6,028 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 9,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $816,000 after buying an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Entergy by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 670,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,869,000 after acquiring an additional 286,005 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Entergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,073,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Entergy by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 78,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,708,000 after acquiring an additional 15,892 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Up 1.2%

ETR opened at $89.34 on Thursday. Entergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $57.47 and a 1 year high of $91.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $83.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $38.48 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 11.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Entergy in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.46.

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.