Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $86.00 to $96.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, December 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.75.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $83.74 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.96. Entergy has a one year low of $50.19 and a one year high of $88.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Entergy will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s payout ratio is 98.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ETR. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 6.9% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 16,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 10.1% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Entergy during the third quarter worth approximately $564,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Entergy by 1.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 89,901 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,001,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

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.