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

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price objective increased by Guggenheim from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.96.

Entergy Stock Down 6.5 %

Shares of ETR stock traded down $9.99 on Friday, hitting $144.79. The stock had a trading volume of 3,871,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,598,875. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $129.72 and its 200-day moving average is $117.12. 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 $94.85 and a 52-week high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $3.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Entergy will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at $4,363,182.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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 business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 47.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $693,260,000 after buying an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Entergy by 64.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after buying an additional 1,630,057 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 185.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,804,000 after buying an additional 1,219,419 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 12.4% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $741,135,000 after buying an additional 763,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 89.2% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,073,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,876,000 after buying an additional 506,239 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.