Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.40.

A number of analysts have commented on ETR shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America cut Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Entergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Entergy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $74.24 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. The stock has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a 1-year low of $48.08 and a 1-year high of $79.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.92.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Entergy will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 15,844 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 69,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,090. This trade represents a 18.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total transaction of $29,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $613,431. This trade represents a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,512 shares of company stock worth $1,675,350 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ETR. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Entergy by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $693,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,776 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $754,318,000 after buying an additional 1,981,611 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Entergy by 185.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,419 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in Entergy by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $741,135,000 after purchasing an additional 763,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake 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. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.