Morgan Stanley Trims Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Target Price to $98.00

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $103.00 to $98.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ETR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Entergy from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Entergy from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a neutral rating and issued a $109.50 price objective (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $113.73.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR opened at $106.45 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Entergy has a 12-month low of $87.10 and a 12-month high of $114.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.22.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.36). Entergy had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s payout ratio is 45.34%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total transaction of $1,003,284.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares in the company, valued at $235,465.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.23, for a total value of $165,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $273,260.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total transaction of $1,003,284.59. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares in the company, valued at $235,465.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the 1st quarter valued at about $213,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 282.2% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 41,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,281,000 after buying an additional 2,338 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in Entergy by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,259,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,828,000 after acquiring an additional 91,655 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 145.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 24,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,551,000 after acquiring an additional 14,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

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.