Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 2,262,287 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 30% from the previous session’s volume of 3,249,205 shares.The stock last traded at $82.77 and had previously closed at $85.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ETR shares. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.11.

Entergy Trading Down 2.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.50. The firm has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 98.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Entergy during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.