Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ETR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Entergy from $113.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Entergy from $91.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Entergy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Argus set a $100.00 price target on shares of Entergy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.87.

Entergy Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:ETR opened at $93.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.00. Entergy has a 52-week low of $75.55 and a 52-week high of $98.58. The company has a market cap of $41.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.58 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 14.26%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. Entergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.850-3.950 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Entergy will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is 63.21%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other Entergy news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 5,136 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.50, for a total value of $495,624.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $762,253.50. This represents a 39.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ralph Lewis Ropp acquired 1,000 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $96.69 per share, with a total value of $96,690.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,524.50. This trade represents a 2,000.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,179 shares of company stock worth $981,707. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,947,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,400,165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488,238 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Entergy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,337,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,174,864,000 after purchasing an additional 417,077 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Entergy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,034,738 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,494,277,000 after purchasing an additional 452,562 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Entergy by 3.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,648,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,365,113,000 after buying an additional 472,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 3.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,652,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,134,850,000 after buying an additional 479,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

About Entergy

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.