Entergy (NYSE:ETR) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $82.92 and last traded at $82.96, with a volume of 1050 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $81.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ETR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Entergy from $68.50 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, December 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.37.

Entergy Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average is $76.11 and its 200 day moving average is $67.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $35.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 9.53% and a net margin of 14.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In other news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total value of $450,146.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,210.88. This trade represents a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total value of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,032 shares of the company's stock, valued at $300,444.48. The trade was a 67.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,756 shares of company stock valued at $1,095,637 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ETR. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Entergy by 21.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 986,546 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $129,840,000 after purchasing an additional 174,093 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 280,262 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,885,000 after acquiring an additional 10,697 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Entergy by 40.7% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,597 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 5,381 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Entergy by 11.4% during the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 97,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,795,000 after acquiring an additional 9,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in Entergy in the third quarter worth about $32,541,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently 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.