Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Lowered to Sector Weight Rating by KeyCorp

KeyCorp cut shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ETR. StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Argus raised shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley raised Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on Entergy from $144.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Entergy from $166.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.19.

Entergy Price Performance

Entergy stock opened at $151.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Entergy has a one year low of $96.15 and a one year high of $158.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $142.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.14.

Entergy’s stock is set to split before the market opens on Friday, December 13th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, October 31st. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, December 12th.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is 58.47%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.00, for a total value of $29,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $613,431. The trade was a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total transaction of $398,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,742.08. The trade was a 8.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,506 shares of company stock worth $2,073,670 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Entergy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 423.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 93.7% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 134 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.