Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

Entergy (NYSE:ETR – Get Rating) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Entergy from $128.00 to $124.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Entergy in a report on Monday, April 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Entergy from $97.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Entergy from $131.00 to $117.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Entergy from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.09.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE:ETR opened at $101.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Entergy has a 1 year low of $94.94 and a 1 year high of $122.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.64. The company has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.65.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 8.17%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.96, for a total transaction of $31,188.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,845.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Entergy news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.10, for a total transaction of $1,326,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $968,586.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.96, for a total value of $31,188.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,845.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,821,838 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Entergy by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,664,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $502,556,000 after purchasing an additional 497,482 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 11.2% in the first quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 36,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,938,000 after buying an additional 3,689 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 75.1% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 9,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 3,869 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 39.3% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 10,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 3,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 0.3% in the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 118,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,783,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.98% of the company’s stock.

About Entergy

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Entergy Corp. is a holding company, which engages in electric power generation and distribution. It operates through the following segments: Utility and Entergy Wholesale Commodities. The Utility segment includes the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric power and the operations of a natural gas distribution business.