Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Receives $77.37 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.37.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America cut Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Entergy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $76.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a 52-week low of $48.08 and a 52-week high of $79.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.94.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Entergy’s payout ratio is 58.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $300,444.48. This trade represents a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total transaction of $29,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $613,431. This trade represents a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,756 shares of company stock worth $1,095,637 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Graypoint LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the fourth quarter worth about $285,000. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Entergy by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 17,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 6,035 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 117.6% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 2,671 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,224,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Entergy by 98.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.