Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 5.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 860 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Entergy were worth $1,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in Entergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 2,172.7% in the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 134.3% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ETR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Entergy from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $109.50 target price (down from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.42.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE ETR traded up $2.21 on Friday, hitting $113.63. 1,405,502 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,290,799. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Entergy Co. has a 1-year low of $87.10 and a 1-year high of $114.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $108.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.36). Entergy had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Entergy’s payout ratio is 45.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 1,500 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.23, for a total transaction of $165,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,260.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 1,500 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.23, for a total transaction of $165,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,260.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total transaction of $1,003,284.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,465.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.