Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Given New $140.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its target price raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $137.00 to $140.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on ETR. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Entergy from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $130.27.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock opened at $132.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $28.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $124.27 and a 200-day moving average of $114.06. Entergy has a one year low of $90.78 and a one year high of $133.38.

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

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,307,787.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, 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 owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,307,787.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,810 shares of company stock valued at $6,140,626 in the last three months. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Entergy by 47.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Entergy by 64.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 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 worth $200,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,419 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in Entergy by 12.4% during the second 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. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Entergy by 89.2% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,073,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,876,000 after purchasing an additional 506,239 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.