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

StockNews.com cut shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.96.

Entergy Trading Down 6.5 %

Shares of ETR opened at $144.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Entergy has a 1 year low of $94.85 and a 1 year high of $156.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.33.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Entergy will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.05%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at $614,040. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at $614,040. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,029,860.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,090. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,610 shares of company stock worth $5,751,954 in the last quarter. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 44,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,896,000 after purchasing an additional 6,929 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Entergy by 20.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 38,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,119,000 after buying an additional 6,505 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Entergy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Entergy during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,030,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.