BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Stock

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its target price increased by BMO Capital Markets from $146.00 to $166.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Entergy from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.96.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR traded down $9.99 on Friday, reaching $144.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,871,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,598,875. Entergy has a 52-week low of $94.85 and a 52-week high of $156.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $129.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted 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. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.27 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Entergy 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,040. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,810 shares of company stock valued at $6,140,626 over the last three months. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 18.3% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 44,802 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,896,000 after purchasing an additional 6,929 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Entergy by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 38,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,119,000 after purchasing an additional 6,505 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Entergy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,030,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Entergy during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. 88.07% of the stock is 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.