Scotiabank Issues Positive Forecast for Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Stock Price

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its target price lifted by Scotiabank from $119.00 to $144.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on ETR. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Entergy from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Entergy from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.96.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of Entergy stock traded down $9.99 on Friday, reaching $144.79. The stock had a trading volume of 3,871,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,598,875. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.12. The stock has a market cap of $30.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. Entergy has a fifty-two week low of $94.85 and a fifty-two week high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,029,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,090. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,092,241.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,029,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,090. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,810 shares of company stock valued at $6,140,626. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Entergy by 12.8% in the third quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 5,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 2.3% during the second quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 3.7% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Entergy by 5.4% in the third quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is 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.