Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Upgraded to “Overweight” by Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $138.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $115.00.

ETR has been the subject of a number of other reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a neutral rating and issued a $109.50 target price (down from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $125.35.

Entergy Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $129.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy has a 12 month low of $87.10 and a 12 month high of $129.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.37. The stock has a market cap of $27.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Entergy will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Entergy’s payout ratio is presently 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total transaction of $398,320.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at $4,288,742.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total transaction of $398,320.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at $4,288,742.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,888 shares of company stock worth $5,110,766. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ETR. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Entergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Entergy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 739,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,781,000 after buying an additional 3,596 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new position in Entergy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $127,675,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in shares of Entergy by 123.1% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 5,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares during the last quarter. 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.