Cetera Advisor Networks LLC Acquires 29,889 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its holdings in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 220.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,889 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $4,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Entergy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Entergy by 24.5% in the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 67.7% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 2,170 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 37,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,559,000 after buying an additional 1,913 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 364,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,275,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.52% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ETR stock opened at $98.96 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.67. Entergy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $87.10 and a fifty-two week high of $120.78.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $3.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 11.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 14th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 13th. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.57%. Entergy’s payout ratio is presently 64.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.40, for a total value of $1,287,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,545.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ETR shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Entergy from $107.00 to $94.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Entergy from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $117.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 8th. UBS Group upgraded Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $103.00 to $118.00 in a report on Monday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Entergy from $120.00 to $114.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Entergy from $97.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.17.

Entergy Company Profile

Entergy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and retail distribution of electricity in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Utility and Entergy Wholesale Commodities. The Utility segment 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.