Investors Purchase High Volume of Entergy Call Options (NYSE:ETR)

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 2,722 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 171% compared to the average daily volume of 1,006 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lowered Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.37.

Entergy Price Performance

NYSE ETR traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $78.58. 363,628 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,906,487. The stock has a market cap of $33.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.53 and a 200-day moving average of $66.36. Entergy has a one year low of $48.08 and a one year high of $79.04.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.04. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Entergy will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is presently 58.39%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total transaction of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,444.48. This trade represents a 67.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,756 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,637. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,408,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,501,509,000 after acquiring an additional 128,667 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 12.4% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $741,135,000 after purchasing an additional 763,834 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 5.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,613,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $870,422,000 after purchasing an additional 315,750 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy by 47.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,776 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Entergy by 53.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $754,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981,611 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.