Entergy Corp (ETR) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Down Y/Y

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) reported fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of 68 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 66 cents by 3%. However, the reported figure decreased 2.85% from 70 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding the effects of special items, the company reported GAAP earnings of $1.92 per share against a loss of 36 cents a year ago.

For 2019, the company reported adjusted earnings of $5.40 per share, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.37 by 0.36%. The bottom line also grew 2.1% from $5.29 in the prior year.

Total Revenues

In the quarter under review, total revenues came in at $2,462.3 million, which declined 2% from the year-ago quarter’s $2,512.5 million.

For 2019, the company’s total revenues amounted to $10.88 billion, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.17 billion by 2.6%. Further, the reported figure slipped 1.1% from the year-ago quarter’s $11 billion.

Segment Results

Utility: The segment’s quarterly adjusted earnings came in at $1.14 per share, in line with the prior-year quarter’s figure.

Parent & Other: The segment incurred an adjusted loss of 46 cents per share compared with a loss of 44 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Entergy Wholesale Commodities (EWC): The segment’s quarterly earnings came in at $1.08 per share against a loss of $2.04 in the year-ago quarter.

Highlights of the Release

Operating expenses in the quarter summed $2.21 billion, down 19.2% from $2.74 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Operating income during the quarter totaled $248.5 million against a loss of $228.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

Interest expenses were $187.9 million, up 4.4% from $180 million in the year-ago quarter.

In the reported quarter, total retail customers served by the company increased 0.8% to nearly 2.92 million.

Entergy Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Financial Highlights

As of Dec 31, 2019, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $425.7 million compared with $481 million, as of Dec 31, 2018.

Long-term debt was $17.1 billion at the end of the fourth quarter compared with $15.52 billion, as of Dec 31, 2018.

At the end of 2019, the company generated cash from operating activities of $2.82 billion, up from $2.39 billion in the prior year.

Guidance

For 2020, Entergy expects operational earnings of $5.45-$5.75 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s earnings is currently pegged at $5.59 per share, slightly lower than the midpoint of the guided range.

Zacks Rank

Entergy carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Utility Releases

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) reported fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 68 cents, up 70% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of 40 cents. The bottom line, however, missed the Zacks Consensus
Estimate of 69 cents.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) reported fourth-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of $1.44 per share, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.54 by 6.5%.

Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) reported fourth-quarter 2019 operating earnings of $1.18 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.16 by 1.7%.

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