Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

ETR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Entergy from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Barclays set a $100.00 price objective on Entergy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Entergy to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. 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 report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 price target (up previously from $96.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.53.

Entergy Stock Performance

ETR opened at $92.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.35 and a 200 day moving average of $89.91. Entergy has a fifty-two week low of $73.15 and a fifty-two week high of $98.58. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter. Entergy had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a $0.64 dividend. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is 63.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, insider Anastasia Minor sold 5,000 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $481,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $975,659.58. The trade was a 33.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ralph Lewis Ropp bought 1,000 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $96.69 per share, for a total transaction of $96,690.00. Following the purchase, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,179 shares of company stock valued at $981,707 over the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 15.2% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,271 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,932 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in Entergy in the first quarter worth approximately $32,658,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Entergy by 26.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 96,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,219,000 after purchasing an additional 19,862 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 369.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 86,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,352,000 after purchasing an additional 67,696 shares during the period. Finally, G&S Capital LLC bought a new stake in Entergy during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,557,000. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.