Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on ETR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Entergy from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Entergy from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.81.

Entergy Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of ETR opened at $142.43 on Friday. Entergy has a fifty-two week low of $94.85 and a fifty-two week high of $156.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $130.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.27 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 55.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,092,241.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Entergy news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,363,182.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,610 shares of company stock worth $5,751,954 over the last quarter. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Entergy by 0.4% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 511,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,071,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy during the 1st quarter valued at $204,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,042,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Entergy by 49.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 238,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,208,000 after buying an additional 78,805 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.