Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on ETR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Entergy from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. BTIG Research raised shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Entergy in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $91.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.47.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE ETR opened at $94.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.38. Entergy has a 12-month low of $73.15 and a 12-month high of $98.58. The company has a market capitalization of $42.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter. Entergy had a net margin of 14.26% and a return on equity of 11.53%. Analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ralph Lewis Ropp acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $96.69 per share, with a total value of $96,690.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 1,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,524.50. This trade represents a 2,000.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 5,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.50, for a total transaction of $495,624.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,253.50. The trade was a 39.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 10,179 shares of company stock worth $981,707 in the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Entergy by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,947,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,400,165,000 after buying an additional 1,488,238 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Entergy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,337,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,174,864,000 after acquiring an additional 417,077 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Entergy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,034,738 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,494,277,000 after acquiring an additional 452,562 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 3.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,648,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,365,113,000 after acquiring an additional 472,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 3.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,652,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,134,850,000 after purchasing an additional 479,093 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.