First Heartland Consultants Inc. Takes Position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. bought a new stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 12.4% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $741,135,000 after purchasing an additional 763,834 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 47.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 64.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,057 shares in the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 0.6% during the second quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,137,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $335,671,000 after acquiring an additional 20,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 22.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,753,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $290,963,000 after acquiring an additional 505,705 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $149.22 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $132.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.02. Entergy Co. has a 12-month low of $94.85 and a 12-month high of $156.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.00, for a total value of $29,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $613,431. This trade represents 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 through this link. In related news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.00, for a total value of $29,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $613,431. This trade represents 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 through this link. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,140,475.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,338 shares of company stock valued at $4,460,238 over the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Entergy from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Entergy from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.96.

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.