Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Upgraded by Argus to Strong-Buy

Argus upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Entergy from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $109.50 target price (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $123.04.

Entergy Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:ETR opened at $119.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.06. Entergy has a 12 month low of $87.10 and a 12 month high of $123.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at $4,363,182.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at $4,363,182.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,092,241.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,272 shares of company stock valued at $1,781,806. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Entergy by 47.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Entergy by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,057 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Entergy in the fourth quarter worth $127,675,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Entergy by 185.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,804,000 after buying an additional 1,219,419 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy during the first quarter valued at about $92,257,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.