Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

ETR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Entergy from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp lifted 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. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.96.

Entergy Stock Down 6.5 %

Shares of Entergy stock traded down $9.99 on Friday, hitting $144.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,871,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,598,875. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $129.72 and a 200-day moving average of $117.12. Entergy has a twelve month low of $94.85 and a twelve month high of $156.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.27 EPS. Research analysts predict that Entergy will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.47%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other news, 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 value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,307,787.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ETR. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 763,834 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 64.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,057 shares during the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 0.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Entergy by 22.5% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,753,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $290,963,000 after buying an additional 505,705 shares during the last quarter. 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.