Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday.

ETR has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $82.50 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America downgraded Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.40.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $75.43 on Friday. Entergy has a 1 year low of $48.08 and a 1 year high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $73.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.66. The firm has a market cap of $32.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Entergy will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.39%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,444.48. This represents a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $29,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $613,431. This represents a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,756 shares of company stock worth $1,095,637. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy by 47.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,260,000 after buying an additional 2,075,776 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $754,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,611 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 185.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,419 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in Entergy by 12.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 763,834 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 89.2% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,073,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,876,000 after purchasing an additional 506,239 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.