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

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $106.71 and last traded at $106.1820, with a volume of 122099 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $105.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ETR shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $91.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Entergy from $104.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of Entergy in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen began coverage on Entergy in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.72.

Entergy Stock Down 2.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $45.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.01). Entergy had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 13.66%.The business had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Entergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.47%.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ETR. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Entergy by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 177,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,415,000 after purchasing an additional 75,195 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Entergy by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 91,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,425,000 after buying an additional 8,560 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy by 89.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,866,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $357,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826,782 shares during the last quarter. Galaxy Group Investments LLC bought a new position in Entergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Entergy by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 12,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Entergy

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) is an integrated energy company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, that generates, transmits and distributes electricity. The company’s operations combine regulated utility services with competitive power production, supplying retail electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers while also participating in wholesale energy markets. Entergy’s generation fleet includes nuclear, natural gas, hydropower and other resources, and it operates a network of transmission and distribution assets to deliver power to end users.

Entergy conducts its regulated utility business through state-based operating subsidiaries that serve customers across parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and southeast Texas.