Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $84.46 and last traded at $84.22, with a volume of 217661 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ETR shares. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. KeyCorp downgraded Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.81.

Entergy Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.38.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 58.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Entergy by 101.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,133,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,952,773,000 after acquiring an additional 26,312,267 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Entergy by 90.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,612,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $956,273,000 after acquiring an additional 5,998,760 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Entergy by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,236,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $774,103,000 after acquiring an additional 5,271,559 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in Entergy by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 11,042,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $837,216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,418,528 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Entergy by 76.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,079,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $764,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,360,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

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.