Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $143.86 and last traded at $143.69, with a volume of 92028 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $134.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ETR. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.19.

Entergy Stock Up 12.0 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $128.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $32.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.74.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 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 firm posted $1.84 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.07%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on 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 owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Entergy news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,363,182.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $388,672.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,307,787.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,810 shares of company stock valued at $6,140,626. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ETR. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 2,172.7% in the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 93.7% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Entergy

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.