Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target Raised to $86.00

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its target price hoisted by Evercore ISI from $75.00 to $86.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ETR. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp downgraded Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE:ETR opened at $84.94 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $79.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.30. Entergy has a twelve month low of $49.80 and a twelve month high of $88.38. The stock has a market cap of $36.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

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

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ETR. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Entergy by 2.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Entergy by 0.8% in the third quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 8,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in Entergy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its stake in Entergy by 1.5% in the third quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 5,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Entergy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.