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

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $144.00 to $180.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ETR has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Entergy from $166.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Entergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $153.19.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE:ETR opened at $151.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 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 has a 12-month low of $96.15 and a 12-month high of $158.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $141.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.74.

Entergy’s stock is going to split on Friday, December 13th. The 2-1 split was announced on Thursday, October 31st. The newly minted shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, December 12th.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.27 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $1.20 dividend. 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 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.47%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,016 shares in the company, valued at $300,444.48. This trade represents a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.00, for a total value of $29,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,173 shares in the company, valued at $613,431. This represents a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,506 shares of company stock worth $2,073,670 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 145.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 24,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,551,000 after acquiring an additional 14,293 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 282.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Entergy by 12.3% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 11.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Entergy by 1.6% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 10,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.