Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Downgraded by Bank of America to “Neutral”

Bank of America lowered shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $154.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $138.00.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ETR. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays cut their price target on Entergy from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.81.

Entergy Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of ETR opened at $142.43 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. Entergy has a one year low of $94.85 and a one year high of $156.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $130.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.60. The company has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Entergy’s payout ratio is presently 55.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,363,182.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of Entergy 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,092,241.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,610 shares of company stock worth $5,751,954. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake 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 period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 47.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,260,000 after buying an additional 2,075,776 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,630,057 shares in the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd raised its position in Entergy by 0.6% during the second quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,137,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $335,671,000 after buying an additional 20,025 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Entergy by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,753,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $290,963,000 after acquiring an additional 505,705 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.