Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Entergy (NYSE:ETR)

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 2,722 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 171% compared to the average volume of 1,006 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp lowered Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Entergy from $68.50 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $29,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $613,431. The trade was a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,756 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,637. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the third quarter worth $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 423.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the third quarter worth $29,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the third quarter worth $42,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $79.06 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $33.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $75.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Entergy has a 12 month low of $48.08 and a 12 month high of $79.34.

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

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 58.39%.

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.