Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) to Issue $1.13 Quarterly Dividend

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of 1.13 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 13th.

Entergy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.1% annually over the last three years. Entergy has a payout ratio of 58.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Entergy to earn $7.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 58.5%.

Entergy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $117.53 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $109.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.39. The company has a market cap of $25.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a 12 month low of $87.10 and a 12 month high of $123.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,363,182.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Entergy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $109.50 price target (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.19.

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.