Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Given New $98.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $103.00 to $98.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ETR. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Entergy from $107.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $109.50 price target (down from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Entergy from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $113.73.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE ETR opened at $107.73 on Monday. Entergy has a 1-year low of $87.10 and a 1-year high of $114.28. The company has a market cap of $23.00 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.19.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.36). Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other Entergy news, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total transaction of $1,003,284.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,465.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Entergy news, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total transaction of $1,003,284.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,465.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.23, for a total value of $165,345.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $273,260.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Entergy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Entergy by 282.2% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in Entergy by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 41,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,281,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its position in Entergy by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,259,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $238,828,000 after purchasing an additional 91,655 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 145.2% in the 1st 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 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.