Entergy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ETR)

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 4,518 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 147% compared to the average daily volume of 1,826 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ETR shares. KeyCorp downgraded Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.75.

Entergy Stock Down 1.3 %

ETR stock opened at $82.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.47. Entergy has a 12 month low of $50.19 and a 12 month high of $88.38. The company has a market cap of $35.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 8,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Entergy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Entergy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc increased its stake in Entergy by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee increased its stake in Entergy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

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.