Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Shares Set to Split on Friday, December 13th

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Free Report)'s stock is scheduled to split before the market opens on Friday, December 13th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, October 31st. The newly created shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, December 12th.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR stock traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $156.60. 1,001,412 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,618,048. The stock has a market cap of $33.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.71. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $96.15 and a fifty-two week high of $158.07. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $138.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.25.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.27 EPS. Research analysts predict that Entergy will post 7.22 earnings per share 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. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from Entergy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is 58.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ETR. Argus raised Entergy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lowered shares of Entergy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Entergy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Entergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Entergy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $150.42.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total value of $398,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,288,742.08. The trade was a 8.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,872 shares of company stock worth $5,004,310. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Entergy by 53.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $754,318,000 after buying an additional 1,981,611 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 181.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 14,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 9,227 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Entergy by 78.3% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Entergy during the third quarter worth $175,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 32.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 48,362 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,365,000 after purchasing an additional 11,964 shares during the period. 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.