Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Stock Rating Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Entergy from $122.00 to $121.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $112.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, July 27th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Entergy from $123.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.57.

Entergy Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE ETR opened at $110.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $104.77 and its 200 day moving average is $107.68. Entergy has a twelve month low of $90.87 and a twelve month high of $118.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 14.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Entergy will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.68 dividend. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 62.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, insider Laura Landreaux sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.20, for a total transaction of $594,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,589 shares in the company, valued at $2,398,951.80. This trade represents a 19.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Entergy in the second quarter worth about $4,861,376,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 5.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,369,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,951,668,000 after buying an additional 870,847 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy during the second quarter valued at approximately $633,338,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Entergy by 4.3% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,941,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $452,681,000 after acquiring an additional 161,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Entergy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $430,404,000. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Company Profile

Entergy Corporation is an investor-owned energy company headquartered in New Orleans. Its primary business is providing regulated electric utility service to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Through its utility subsidiaries, Entergy serves communities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Its operations include generating, transmitting and distributing electricity, with power produced from a mix of sources that includes nuclear energy.

The company traces its corporate history to Middle South Utilities, which adopted the Entergy name in 1989.