Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $123.04.

Several brokerages have commented on ETR. Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Entergy from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Guggenheim raised their target price on Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th.

Entergy Trading Down 0.5 %

ETR stock opened at $121.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $115.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.48. Entergy has a one year low of $87.10 and a one year high of $123.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Entergy will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,888 shares of company stock worth $5,110,766 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Entergy by 2,172.7% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 93.7% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

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.