Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Stock

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $97.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.93% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ETR. Mizuho lifted their target price on Entergy from $69.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America downgraded Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.73.

Entergy Trading Up 6.0 %

Entergy stock opened at $87.45 on Wednesday. Entergy has a 12-month low of $49.80 and a 12-month high of $88.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Entergy will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Entergy news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at $292,210.88. This trade represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Entergy by 423.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Entergy during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Entergy during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY grew its position in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.