UBS Group Boosts Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target to $144.00

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price target raised by UBS Group from $143.00 to $144.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Argus raised Entergy to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays raised Entergy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the company from $115.00 to $138.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $127.35.

Entergy Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ETR opened at $129.25 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $118.52 and a 200 day moving average of $110.93. Entergy has a fifty-two week low of $87.10 and a fifty-two week high of $129.70. The firm has a market cap of $27.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. 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 announced 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. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the business’s 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 owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,288,742.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,040. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of Entergy 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 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. Insiders sold 42,888 shares of company stock worth $5,110,766 in the last quarter. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in Entergy by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 234,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,275,000 after purchasing an additional 13,882 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 55,261 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,592,000 after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Entergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $127,675,000. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Entergy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,783,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 55.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 5,303 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.