Analysts Set Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Target Price at $109.45

Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $109.45.

ETR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp upped their target price on Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th.

Insider Activity

In other Entergy news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total transaction of $874,140.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,019,247.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total value of $874,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,019,247.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total transaction of $151,845.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,433.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $1,226,685 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 23.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in Entergy during the first quarter worth $1,937,000. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 3.6% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 3,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its stake in Entergy by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 16,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 2,387 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE ETR opened at $109.03 on Friday. Entergy has a 52 week low of $87.10 and a 52 week high of $109.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $104.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.69.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.36). Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $31.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. Entergy’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.34%.

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.