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Entergy's (ETR) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Miss

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Entergy Corporation (ETR - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of 71 cents per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents by 4.4%. However, the reported figure also increased 4.4% from 68 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding the effects of special items, the company reported GAAP earnings of $1.93 per share compared to the GAAP earnings of $1.92 a year ago.

For 2020, the company reported adjusted earnings of $5.66 per share, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.64 by 0.4%. The bottom line also grew 4.8% from $5.40 in the prior year.

Total Revenues

Entergy Corp.’s fourth-quarter revenues of $2,370.1 million missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,500 million by 5.2%. Further, revenues declined 2.5% from $2,462.3 million in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to lower Electric and Natural gas revenues.

For 2020, the company’s total revenues amounted to $10.11 billion, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.17 billion by 9.5%. Further, the reported figure slipped 7.1% from the year-ago quarter’s $10.88 billion.

Segment Results

Utility: The segment’s quarterly adjusted earnings came in at $1.03 per share compared with $1.14 in the prior-year quarter.

Parent & Other: The segment incurred an adjusted loss of 32 cents per share compared with a loss of 46 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Highlights of the Release

Operating expenses in the quarter summed $2.22 billion, up 0.2% from $2.21 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Operating income during the quarter totaled $152.1 million compared to $248.5 million in the year-ago quarter.

Interest expenses were $207.8 million, up 1.9% from $203.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

In the reported quarter, total retail customers served by the company increased 1% to nearly 2.95 million.

Financial Highlights

As of Dec 31, 2020, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $1,759.1 million compared with $425.7 million as of Dec 31, 2019.

Long-term debt was $21.2 billion at the end of 2020 compared with $17.1 billion as of Dec 31, 2019.

At the end of 2020, the company generated cash from operating activities of $2.69 billion, down from $2.82 billion in the prior year.

Entergy Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Guidance 2021

For 2021, Entergy expects operational earnings of $5.80-$6.10 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s earnings is currently pegged at $5.88 per share, lower than the midpoint of the guided range.

Zacks Rank

Entergy currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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

Recent Utility Releases

Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL - Free Report) posted fourth-quarter 2020 operating earnings of 54 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings of 40 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 39 cents by 2.6%.

CMS Energy Corp. (CMS - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter 2020 adjusted earnings per share of 56 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 55 cents by 1.8%.

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