Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.25 EPS

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) announced its earnings results on Monday. The utilities provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.25, Zacks reports. Entergy had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 10.53%.

Entergy Price Performance

Entergy stock opened at $109.93 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $104.36 and its 200-day moving average is $107.30. Entergy has a 12 month low of $90.87 and a 12 month high of $118.44. The company has a market capitalization of $51.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.46.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Entergy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price objective on Entergy from $120.50 to $113.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 12th. Evercore lifted their target price on Entergy from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. BTIG Research decreased their price target on shares of Entergy from $126.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Entergy from $133.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, insider Laura Landreaux sold 5,600 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.20, for a total value of $594,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,398,951.80. The trade was a 19.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ralph Lewis Ropp bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $106.08 per share, with a total value of $106,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $363,111.84. This represents a 41.27% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Entergy

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company that operates as a regulated electric utility. Through its operating companies, the company generates, transmits and distributes electricity to residential, commercial, industrial and governmental customers. Its generation portfolio includes nuclear, natural gas, renewable and other power resources, while its transmission and distribution networks deliver electricity across its service territories.

Entergy serves customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, including the New Orleans area through Entergy New Orleans.