Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Price Target Raised to $115.00 at Morgan Stanley

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $115.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ETR. Bank of America lifted their price target on Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays upgraded Entergy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their price target for the company from $115.00 to $138.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a neutral rating and issued a $109.50 price target (down from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $127.81.

Entergy Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ETR opened at $131.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. Entergy has a one year low of $87.10 and a one year high of $131.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $120.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.76. The company has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.34%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,029,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,090. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Entergy news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total value of $1,321,115.52. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 7,922 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,029,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,090. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,810 shares of company stock worth $6,140,626 in the last three months. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ETR. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 2,172.7% in the first quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 93.7% in the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Entergy during the second quarter valued at $34,000. 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.