UBS Group Raises Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target to $144.00

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price target increased by research analysts at UBS Group from $143.00 to $144.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.41% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $109.50 price objective (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Entergy from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.35.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $129.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $118.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. Entergy has a 52 week low of $87.10 and a 52 week high of $129.70.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,140,475.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.56, for a total value of $398,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,288,742.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,888 shares of company stock valued at $5,110,766. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $741,135,000 after buying an additional 763,834 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 47.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Entergy by 64.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,057 shares during the last quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd grew its stake in Entergy by 0.6% in the second quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,137,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $335,671,000 after purchasing an additional 20,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,753,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $290,963,000 after buying an additional 505,705 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is 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.