Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

ETR has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Mizuho raised their price target on Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $75.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Entergy has a one year low of $48.08 and a one year high of $79.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 400 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $29,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $613,431. The trade was a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total transaction of $616,090.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,444.48. The trade was a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,756 shares of company stock worth $1,095,637 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 269,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,843,000 after purchasing an additional 2,282 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 82.4% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495 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.