Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on ETR. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price target on Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.40.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $75.13 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $73.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.60. The company has a market cap of $32.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a one year low of $48.08 and a one year high of $79.04.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Entergy will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 15,844 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $1,029,860.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 69,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,090. This trade represents a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the business’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 directly owns 4,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,444.48. The trade was a 67.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,600 shares of company stock worth $2,125,497. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Entergy by 21.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 11.4% during the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,795,000 after purchasing an additional 9,986 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Entergy by 4.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,885,000 after buying an additional 10,697 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised 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 buying an additional 5,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,541,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.