Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $79.07 and last traded at $78.85, with a volume of 1058257 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 note on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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 report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.37.

Entergy Stock Up 1.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.81 and a 200-day moving average of $66.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.04. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Entergy’s payout ratio is 58.47%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $292,210.88. This trade represents a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 4,032 shares in the company, valued at $300,444.48. This represents a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,756 shares of company stock worth $1,095,637 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 21.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,840,000 after purchasing an additional 174,093 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,885,000 after acquiring an additional 10,697 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 9,986 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,541,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.