Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $131.00 to $140.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Entergy traded as high as $134.63 and last traded at $134.18, with a volume of 153383 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $131.90.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ETR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Argus raised Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Entergy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.96.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy 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 directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $4,363,182.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Entergy during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Entergy by 2,172.7% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank grew its stake in Entergy by 93.7% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Trading Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.26. The firm has a market cap of $28.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.74.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.34%.

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.