Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $131.00 to $140.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Entergy traded as high as $134.63 and last traded at $134.18, with a volume of 153383 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $131.90.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ETR. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.96.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,307,787.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at $4,363,182.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,810 shares of company stock valued at $6,140,626 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Entergy in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 2,172.7% during the first quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. American National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 93.7% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.40. The company has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.74.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.34%.

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.