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

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $150.42.

ETR has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Entergy from $166.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Argus raised shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at $614,040. The trade was a 50.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,472 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,328 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 55.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 5,303 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in Entergy by 145.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 24,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,551,000 after purchasing an additional 14,293 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Entergy by 21.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,840,000 after purchasing an additional 174,093 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 41,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,795,000 after buying an additional 9,986 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $149.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $136.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.78. The company has a market cap of $32.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a twelve month low of $96.15 and a twelve month high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.27 EPS. Research analysts predict that Entergy will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.47%.

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.