Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $103.0938.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ETR. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Entergy in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Entergy from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 target price on shares of Entergy in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Entergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $93.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.62. Entergy has a 1 year low of $74.72 and a 1 year high of $98.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.54.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 14.26%.The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ralph Lewis Ropp acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $96.69 per share, with a total value of $96,690.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 1,050 shares in the company, valued at $101,524.50. The trade was a 2,000.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 5,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.50, for a total transaction of $495,624.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,253.50. The trade was a 39.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 10,179 shares of company stock valued at $981,707 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MFA Wealth Services grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Services now owns 2,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Entergy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 13,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,348,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Entergy by 56.9% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Entergy by 3.1% during the second quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Entergy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 4,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Company Profile

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) is an integrated energy company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, that generates, transmits and distributes electricity. The company’s operations combine regulated utility services with competitive power production, supplying retail electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers while also participating in wholesale energy markets. Entergy’s generation fleet includes nuclear, natural gas, hydropower and other resources, and it operates a network of transmission and distribution assets to deliver power to end users.

Entergy conducts its regulated utility business through state-based operating subsidiaries that serve customers across parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and southeast Texas.