Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $77.37.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Mizuho increased their target price on Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $76.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $32.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a 1 year low of $48.08 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.62.

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

Entergy Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the firm’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 value of $450,146.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,210.88. This trade represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total transaction of $29,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $613,431. This represents a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,756 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,637. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Entergy by 21.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,840,000 after purchasing an additional 174,093 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised 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 valued at $12,795,000 after buying an additional 9,986 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 boosted its holdings in Entergy by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 5,381 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.