Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target Raised to $97.00

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $97.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Entergy Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $84.94 on Wednesday. Entergy has a 12-month low of $49.80 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.30. The company has a market capitalization of $36.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Entergy news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 423.8% in the 3rd 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 period. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. 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.