Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $65.38 and traded as high as $76.64. Entergy shares last traded at $75.21, with a volume of 2,733,074 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ETR shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.40.

Entergy Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $32.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. Research analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

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 stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,444.48. This trade represents a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,756 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,637 in the last ninety days. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Entergy by 21.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,840,000 after purchasing an additional 174,093 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,795,000 after acquiring an additional 9,986 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,885,000 after acquiring an additional 10,697 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 40.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 5,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in Entergy during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,541,000. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Company Profile

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.