Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Stock Price

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price objective raised by Mizuho from $138.00 to $165.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus raised Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.96.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETR traded up $2.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $144.45. 160,298 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,598,546. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.60. Entergy has a twelve month low of $94.85 and a twelve month high of $156.85. The firm has a market cap of $30.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,363,182.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,092,241.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,610 shares of company stock valued at $5,751,954 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 47.1% in the 2nd 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 period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Entergy by 64.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,057 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 185.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,419 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $741,135,000 after purchasing an additional 763,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 89.2% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,073,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,876,000 after purchasing an additional 506,239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.