Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target Increased to $144.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $143.00 to $144.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $100.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $127.35.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $130.04 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $27.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. Entergy has a twelve month low of $87.10 and a twelve month high of $130.16.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 EPS 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 earned $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,307,787.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy 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 directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at $4,363,182.08. 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the second quarter worth $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Entergy by 2,172.7% during the first quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 93.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Entergy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.