Entergy’s (ETR) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $109.50 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $117.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ETR. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $107.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $114.12.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR stock opened at $107.02 on Wednesday. Entergy has a one year low of $87.10 and a one year high of $114.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $108.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $31.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. Entergy’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd were given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other news, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total value of $1,003,284.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,465.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total value of $1,003,284.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,465.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 1,500 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.23, for a total transaction of $165,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $273,260.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ETR. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 64.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,562,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $422,019,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787,977 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,057 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at $127,675,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the 1st quarter valued at $92,257,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,961,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $400,901,000 after purchasing an additional 796,316 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.