Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target Raised to $140.00

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price target upped by KeyCorp from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $128.58.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $132.73 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $28.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.45. Entergy has a 52 week low of $87.10 and a 52 week high of $133.38.

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

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,029,860.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,090. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,029,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,090. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,810 shares of company stock valued at $6,140,626. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in Entergy by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $741,135,000 after acquiring an additional 763,834 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Entergy by 47.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,776 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in Entergy by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after buying an additional 1,630,057 shares in the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd increased its stake in Entergy by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,137,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $335,671,000 after buying an additional 20,025 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Entergy by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,753,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $290,963,000 after buying an additional 505,705 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.