Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target Raised to $144.00 at UBS Group

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at UBS Group from $143.00 to $144.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.85% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on ETR. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.35.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $128.74. 435,292 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,560,101. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Entergy has a 1-year low of $87.10 and a 1-year high of $129.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $118.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.62.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total transaction of $2,310,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total transaction of $2,310,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,321,115.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,888 shares of company stock worth $5,110,766 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ETR. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 12.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 763,834 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Entergy by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $693,260,000 after buying an additional 2,075,776 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Entergy by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after buying an additional 1,630,057 shares in the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,137,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $335,671,000 after acquiring an additional 20,025 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,753,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $290,963,000 after acquiring an additional 505,705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.