Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Sets New 12-Month High at $108.85

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $108.85 and last traded at $108.59, with a volume of 141538 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $108.08.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ETR. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Entergy from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $111.00 to $104.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Entergy in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.45.

Entergy Trading Up 1.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $23.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $104.40 and its 200 day moving average is $101.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.36). Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Entergy Co. will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total transaction of $151,845.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $348,433.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total value of $151,845.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $348,433.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly Cook-Nelson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $200,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,609,312.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,229 shares of company stock worth $2,229,970 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 38,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,537,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after buying an additional 3,345 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 5.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 49,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,620,000 after buying an additional 2,588 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in Entergy by 6.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in Entergy by 5.1% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.