Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target Cut to $98.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price objective lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $103.00 to $98.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 8.93% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Entergy in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. 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 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.73.

Entergy Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ETR traded up $1.80 during trading on Monday, reaching $107.61. The stock had a trading volume of 116,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,816. Entergy has a one year low of $87.10 and a one year high of $114.28. The company has a market capitalization of $22.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.15.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.36). Entergy had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $31.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Entergy will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 related news, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total value of $1,003,284.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,465.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.23, for a total transaction of $165,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,260.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Entergy by 64.2% in the 1st 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. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Entergy in the 4th quarter worth $127,675,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy in the 1st quarter worth $92,257,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,961,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $400,901,000 after purchasing an additional 796,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ClearBridge Investments Ltd boosted its stake in Entergy by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,115,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,254,000 after purchasing an additional 706,059 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

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.