Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Stock Price

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $137.00 to $170.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Entergy from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $146.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.96.

Entergy Trading Down 6.5 %

Shares of ETR stock traded down $9.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $144.79. 3,871,509 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,598,875. Entergy has a 12-month low of $94.85 and a 12-month high of $156.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $129.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.27 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 58.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,140,475.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,140,475.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,810 shares of company stock valued at $6,140,626 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 234,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,275,000 after purchasing an additional 13,882 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 55.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 14,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 5,303 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the 1st quarter valued at $1,245,000. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 145.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 24,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,551,000 after purchasing an additional 14,293 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Entergy by 17.5% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 41,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,397,000 after acquiring an additional 6,197 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently 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.