Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Upgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to “Buy” Rating

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $86.50 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ETR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.81.

Entergy Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $81.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $34.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a 52-week low of $48.08 and a 52-week high of $84.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.04. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. The business 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 posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,032 shares in the company, valued at $300,444.48. This trade represents a 67.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,756 shares of company stock worth $1,095,637 over the last ninety days. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 2.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Entergy by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 8,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its holdings in Entergy by 0.9% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in Entergy by 12.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its stake in Entergy by 1.5% during the third quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 5,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

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.