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

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $141.96.

Several brokerages have commented on ETR. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays cut their target price on Entergy from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Entergy Stock Down 6.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $144.79 on Friday. Entergy has a 52-week low of $94.85 and a 52-week high of $156.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.12.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other Entergy news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,363,182.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,029,860.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,090. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at $4,363,182.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,810 shares of company stock valued at $6,140,626 over the last ninety days. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 12.4% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $741,135,000 after acquiring an additional 763,834 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Entergy by 47.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075,776 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Entergy by 64.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,057 shares during the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd increased its stake in Entergy by 0.6% during the second quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,137,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $335,671,000 after acquiring an additional 20,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Entergy by 22.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,753,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $290,963,000 after acquiring an additional 505,705 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.