Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Receives $85.75 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.04.

ETR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Entergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Entergy from $86.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Entergy from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $86.50 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ETR traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $83.10. 2,444,486 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,693,014. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.05. Entergy has a 52 week low of $52.07 and a 52 week high of $88.38. The company has a market cap of $35.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.62.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Entergy's payout ratio is presently 77.92%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Entergy by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,828,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,687,331,000 after buying an additional 2,695,348 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Entergy by 142.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,594,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,334,034,000 after purchasing an additional 10,347,926 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Entergy by 2.2% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,173,889 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,126,244,000 after purchasing an additional 289,468 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,612,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $956,273,000 after purchasing an additional 5,998,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 11,042,159 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $837,216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,418,528 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company's stock.

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.