Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) hit a new 52-week high on Friday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $143.00 to $144.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Entergy traded as high as $129.70 and last traded at $129.47, with a volume of 1413123 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $127.68.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ETR. Argus upgraded Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $109.50 price target (down from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.35.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total value of $398,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,742.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,092,241.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total transaction of $398,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at $4,288,742.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,888 shares of company stock valued at $5,110,766. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ETR. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Entergy by 21.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 0.5% in the second quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,367,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Entergy by 1.3% in the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 20,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,198,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Stock Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $27.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $118.12 and its 200 day moving average is $110.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.