Lmcg Investments LLC Lowers Position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Lmcg Investments LLC lessened its stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 153,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,227 shares during the quarter. Entergy accounts for about 1.2% of Lmcg Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $20,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 511,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,992 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy during the first quarter worth approximately $204,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 32.1% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Entergy by 4.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,042,000 after buying an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Entergy by 49.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 238,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,208,000 after buying an additional 78,805 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ETR shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Entergy from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus upgraded Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Entergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.96.

Entergy Trading Down 6.5 %

NYSE:ETR traded down $9.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $144.79. 3,871,509 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,598,875. The company’s 50 day moving average is $129.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.12. Entergy Co. has a twelve month low of $94.85 and a twelve month high of $156.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is presently 58.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,363,182.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total transaction of $2,310,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.