Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 107,856 Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 89.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 228,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 107,856 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Entergy were worth $17,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,840,000 after acquiring an additional 174,093 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Entergy by 40.7% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy by 4.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,885,000 after purchasing an additional 10,697 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,393,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 74.3% in the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 3,393 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at $292,210.88. This represents a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Barclays raised their price target on Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. KeyCorp lowered Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Entergy Stock Performance

ETR opened at $85.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a PE ratio of 35.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72. Entergy Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.80 and a 1 year high of $88.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.77%.

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.