Brokerages Set Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Target Price at $86.46

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.46.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Entergy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Entergy from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th.

Entergy Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Entergy stock opened at $89.34 on Monday. Entergy has a 1 year low of $57.47 and a 1 year high of $91.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $38.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.01, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s fifty day moving average is $83.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.00.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.14. Entergy had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 11.43%. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. Analysts forecast that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Mattson Financial Services LLC raised its position in Entergy by 100.0% during the first quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its position in Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. raised its position in Entergy by 135.7% during the second quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Entergy during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc acquired a new position in Entergy during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.