Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Upgraded to “Overweight” by Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $138.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $115.00.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Entergy from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus raised shares of Entergy to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $125.35.

Entergy Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ETR opened at $127.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $118.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. Entergy has a 52 week low of $87.10 and a 52 week high of $129.66.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.34%.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In related news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $619,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total value of $398,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,288,742.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,888 shares of company stock valued at $5,110,766. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Entergy in the fourth quarter valued at about $137,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 739,027 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,781,000 after acquiring an additional 3,596 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new stake in Entergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at $127,675,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in Entergy by 123.1% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 5,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,238 shares in the last quarter. 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.