Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $131.19.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Argus raised Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $134.40 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.48 and a 200-day moving average of $116.55. The company has a market cap of $28.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy has a 1-year low of $94.63 and a 1-year high of $138.24.

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

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 54.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,029,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,090. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,029,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,090. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,810 shares of company stock valued at $6,140,626. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,260,000 after buying an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Entergy by 64.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,057 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 185.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,419 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $741,135,000 after purchasing an additional 763,834 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,073,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,876,000 after purchasing an additional 506,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

About Entergy

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.