Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC Buys New Position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 42,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,503,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morton Community Bank lifted its holdings in Entergy by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 32,373 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,464,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares during the period. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 15.2% during the second quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 58,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,259,000 after buying an additional 7,714 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 341.8% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 65,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,029,000 after purchasing an additional 50,846 shares during the period. Finally, Delta Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,367,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Entergy stock traded down $0.41 on Friday, reaching $121.90. 1,523,795 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,521,238. The company has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $114.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. Entergy Co. has a 52 week low of $87.10 and a 52 week high of $123.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.34%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,638 shares of company stock worth $4,712,446. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ETR. Argus raised shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Entergy from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Entergy from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.04.

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.