Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $109.45.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th.

Entergy Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:ETR opened at $108.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $103.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.69. Entergy has a 12 month low of $87.10 and a 12 month high of $108.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $31.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that Entergy will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. Entergy’s payout ratio is 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other Entergy news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total transaction of $874,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,911 shares in the company, valued at $1,019,247.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $200,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,609,312.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total transaction of $874,140.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,019,247.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $1,226,685 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 157.1% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in Entergy in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Company Profile

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.