Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $131.90.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Entergy from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Argus raised Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.96.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at $4,363,182.08. This trade represents 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 over the last ninety days. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its position 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 in the last quarter. American National Bank grew its position 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 in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $124.61 and a 200-day moving average of $114.26. The stock has a market cap of $28.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.74.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders 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 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.34%.

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.