Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Entergy from $72.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.40.

Entergy Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:ETR opened at $75.76 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $73.95 and its 200-day moving average is $64.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. Entergy has a 12 month low of $48.08 and a 12 month high of $79.04. The firm has a market cap of $32.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total transaction of $29,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $613,431. The trade was a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,756 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,637 over the last 90 days. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Entergy by 1.1% during 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 boosted its stake in Entergy by 12.4% in 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 Entergy by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,613,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $870,422,000 after purchasing an additional 315,750 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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 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.