Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.37.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ETR shares. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America cut shares of Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Entergy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $76.69 on Thursday. Entergy has a fifty-two week low of $48.08 and a fifty-two week high of $79.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of $32.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Entergy will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,210.88. This represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 400 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $29,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,346 shares in the company, valued at $613,431. This represents a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,756 shares of company stock worth $1,095,637. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in Entergy by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,408,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,501,509,000 after acquiring an additional 128,667 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $741,135,000 after purchasing an additional 763,834 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,613,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $870,422,000 after purchasing an additional 315,750 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $693,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 53.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $754,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,611 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.