Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 174,093 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 986,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 174,093 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.46% of Entergy worth $129,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ETR. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in shares of Entergy during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 423.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank lifted its stake in Entergy by 93.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Entergy in the third quarter worth $31,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ETR shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America lowered Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,134 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,444.48. This trade represents a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $72,018.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,472 shares of company stock worth $5,076,328 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $149.12 on Friday. Entergy Co. has a 12 month low of $96.15 and a 12 month high of $156.85. The stock has a market cap of $31.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $135.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.10. 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 earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 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.