Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Equal Weight” Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $150.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $116.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ETR. UBS Group raised their target price on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.96.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $145.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $31.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $131.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.08. Entergy has a fifty-two week low of $94.85 and a fifty-two week high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.27 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,040. This represents a 0.00 % 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, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,029,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,090. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,338 shares of company stock valued at $4,460,238. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 209.1% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,162,000 after purchasing an additional 26,532 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 10.1% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 6.9% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 16,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Entergy during the third quarter worth about $329,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Entergy by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 190,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,136,000 after buying an additional 18,850 shares during the period. 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.