Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Cut to Neutral at Bank of America

Bank of America lowered shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $154.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $138.00.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ETR. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Argus raised Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.96.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $146.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $131.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a 52 week low of $94.85 and a 52 week high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the company posted $3.27 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. This is a positive change from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is 55.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,140,475.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $72,018.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,138 shares of company stock valued at $4,430,838. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy during the third quarter worth $781,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 13.0% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 55,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,303,000 after buying an additional 6,377 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 14.8% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 229,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,262,000 after buying an additional 29,558 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy in the third quarter worth $237,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy in the third quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

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.