Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target Raised to $86.00 at Evercore ISI

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price objective hoisted by Evercore ISI from $75.00 to $86.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ETR. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Entergy Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:ETR opened at $87.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $37.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.72. Entergy has a 52-week low of $49.80 and a 52-week high of $88.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.08.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Entergy will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Entergy’s payout ratio is 58.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Entergy by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,840,000 after acquiring an additional 174,093 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Entergy by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 5,381 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Entergy by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,885,000 after acquiring an additional 10,697 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Entergy by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,795,000 after buying an additional 9,986 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Entergy during the 4th quarter worth about $4,393,000. 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.