Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 97.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,182,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 584,780 shares during the quarter. Entergy comprises approximately 1.7% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned 0.28% of Entergy worth $89,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,408,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,501,509,000 after purchasing an additional 128,667 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 5.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,613,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $870,422,000 after buying an additional 315,750 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Entergy by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $754,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981,611 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,965,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $651,206,000 after acquiring an additional 37,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,589,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $472,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,355 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETR has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total transaction of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,444.48. This represents a 67.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $82.37 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $35.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $48.08 and a fifty-two week high of $84.26.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.47%.

About Entergy

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.