Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $150.42.

ETR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Entergy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $154.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Entergy from $138.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Entergy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE ETR traded up $0.82 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.71. 1,827,111 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,614,096. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a 12-month low of $96.15 and a 12-month high of $156.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $136.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from Entergy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Entergy's payout ratio is presently 58.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $614,040. This trade represents a 50.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,134 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $300,444.48. This represents a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,472 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,328. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Entergy by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 550 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 55.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 5,303 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 41,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,397,000 after purchasing an additional 6,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in Entergy in the 1st quarter worth $291,000. Institutional investors 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.