Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Entergy (NYSE:ETR) in a research note released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $109.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Entergy in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Entergy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho set a $97.00 price target on shares of Entergy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 price target (up previously from $88.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.87.

Entergy Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ETR opened at $87.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.43. Entergy has a 1 year low of $60.00 and a 1 year high of $92.40.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 14.35%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. Entergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.750-3.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 59.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,463 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.50, for a total value of $403,901.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,279. This trade represents a 57.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Entergy during the second quarter worth about $468,628,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in Entergy by 114.9% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,940,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $578,531,000 after buying an additional 3,710,814 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Entergy by 474.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,876,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,953,000 after buying an additional 3,201,530 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Entergy by 964.8% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,055,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $261,232,000 after buying an additional 2,768,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 5.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,828,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,687,331,000 after buying an additional 2,695,348 shares during the last quarter. 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.