Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Given New $78.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $75.00 to $78.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ETR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, KeyCorp cut Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.32.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE:ETR opened at $84.62 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Entergy has a 1 year low of $50.19 and a 1 year high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 98.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 2.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC raised 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 valued at $1,163,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in Entergy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,065,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Entergy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gen Wealth Partners Inc grew its position in Entergy by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently 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.