Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $109.78.

ETR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $102.29 on Tuesday. Entergy has a twelve month low of $87.10 and a twelve month high of $109.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.90.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.54% and a net margin of 19.41%. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Entergy will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.42%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,609,312.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total value of $200,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,312.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $1,226,685. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ETR. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 157.1% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Entergy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

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.