Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Receives $118.19 Average Price Target from Analysts

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $119.73.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ETR shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Entergy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Entergy from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $109.50 price objective (down from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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 ETR. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Entergy by 47.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $693,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,776 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Entergy by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,057 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $127,675,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Entergy by 185.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,804,000 after buying an additional 1,219,419 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy during the first quarter worth approximately $92,257,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $117.60 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a 1-year low of $87.10 and a 1-year high of $123.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.