Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Stock

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price target raised by Mizuho from $138.00 to $165.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ETR. Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.96.

Entergy Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ETR stock traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $144.45. 160,298 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,598,546. The company has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a 52 week low of $94.85 and a 52 week high of $156.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $130.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.27 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This is a positive change 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 payout ratio is currently 55.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other Entergy news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $4,363,182.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,288,742.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,610 shares of company stock worth $5,751,954 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in Entergy by 196.7% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 7,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 5,247 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 324.7% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 18,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,484,000 after buying an additional 14,482 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $94,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Entergy by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 3,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 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.