Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Trading Down 5.6% – What’s Next?

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)’s share price traded down 5.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $145.57 and last traded at $146.14. 2,303,243 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 45% from the average session volume of 1,591,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $154.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.96.

Entergy Trading Down 6.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.82. 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 58.47%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $72,018.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $72,018.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total transaction of $2,310,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626 over the last ninety days. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ETR. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased 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 worth $693,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Entergy by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,057 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 185.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,419 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Entergy by 89.2% in the 2nd 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.