Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Upgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to “Buy” Rating

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) was upgraded by investment analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $86.50 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.57% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lowered Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.81.

Entergy Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:ETR opened at $81.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.11 and a 200-day moving average of $68.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a 52 week low of $48.08 and a 52 week high of $84.26.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. Analysts predict that Entergy will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total transaction of $616,090.02. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,444.48. The trade was a 67.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,210.88. This trade represents a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,756 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,637. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ETR. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Entergy by 2.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 0.8% in the third quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 8,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co raised its position in Entergy by 12.8% during the third quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC raised its position in Entergy by 1.5% during the third quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 5,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. 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.