Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Rating Lowered to “Neutral” at Bank of America

Bank of America lowered shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $154.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $138.00.

ETR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.96.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE ETR opened at $145.96 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.08. Entergy has a 12-month low of $94.85 and a 12-month high of $156.85. The company has a market cap of $31.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Entergy will post 7.21 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is a positive change from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total value of $398,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,742.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Entergy news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total transaction of $398,320.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,742.08. This 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, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.00, for a total transaction of $29,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $613,431. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,338 shares of company stock valued at $4,460,238. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Entergy by 2,172.7% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in Entergy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Entergy by 423.8% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. 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.