Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Trading Down 5.6% - What's Next?

Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) fell 5.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $145.57 and last traded at $146.14. 2,303,243 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 45% from the average session volume of 1,591,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ETR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Entergy from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.96.

Entergy Trading Down 6.5 %

The company's 50 day moving average price is $129.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from Entergy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Entergy's payout ratio is 58.47%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total transaction of $2,310,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $388,672.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,307,787.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $741,135,000 after buying an additional 763,834 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Entergy by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $693,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,776 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Entergy by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $440,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,057 shares during the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd raised its position in Entergy by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,137,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $335,671,000 after buying an additional 20,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Entergy by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,753,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $290,963,000 after buying an additional 505,705 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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