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

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price objective increased by Scotiabank from $119.00 to $144.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus raised shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.96.

Entergy Stock Down 6.5 %

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $144.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a 1 year low of $94.85 and a 1 year high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,029,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,090. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $1,029,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,090. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,610 shares of company stock worth $5,751,954 in the last ninety days. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ETR. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position 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 worth $693,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 64.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,057 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 185.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,419 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $741,135,000 after acquiring an additional 763,834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 89.2% in the second 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 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.