QRG Capital Management Inc. Buys 56,964 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 80.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 128,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,964 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Entergy worth $16,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 363,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,814,000 after purchasing an additional 18,256 shares during the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 24.5% in the third quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in Entergy in the third quarter worth about $212,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 110,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,586,000 after acquiring an additional 4,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 1.5% during the third quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 5,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,610 shares of company stock worth $5,751,954. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America downgraded Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $138.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.81.

Entergy Price Performance

NYSE:ETR opened at $142.43 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.60. Entergy Co. has a 1-year low of $94.85 and a 1-year high of $156.85. The firm has a market cap of $30.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.27 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.05%.

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.