Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target Raised to $96.00

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $86.00 to $96.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ETR has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.75.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR opened at $83.74 on Friday. Entergy has a 52-week low of $50.19 and a 52-week high of $88.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $36.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $82.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.16.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Entergy will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,393,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,393 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Entergy by 324.3% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy by 88.8% during the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 360,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,333,000 after purchasing an additional 169,511 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.