Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target Raised to $180.00 at UBS Group

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $144.00 to $180.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ETR has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Entergy from $166.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America lowered shares of Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Entergy from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $116.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Argus raised Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.19.

Entergy Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $153.73 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $142.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.14. Entergy has a 12-month low of $96.15 and a 12-month high of $158.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy shares are set to split on the morning of Friday, December 13th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, October 31st. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, December 12th.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Entergy will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a boost from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of Entergy 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,090. The trade was a 18.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $300,444.48. This trade represents a 67.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,506 shares of company stock worth $2,073,670 over the last 90 days. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Entergy during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Entergy in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 423.8% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

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.