NEW ORLEANS, April 1, 2026, 09:08 CDT
Entergy kept its rally alive Wednesday, trading near $113.74 after notching a fresh 52-week high of $112.36 at Tuesday’s close. That’s seven straight days up for the stock. Bullish sentiment followed—Mizuho assigned a $120 target, and UBS held firm on its own $120 price view.
The rally has drawn notice, with investors eyeing utilities that could ride the AI-driven surge in electricity demand—without getting squeezed on consumer rates. Entergy’s freshly inked deal with Meta is getting singled out here. It’s arguably the clearest move yet by a tech heavyweight to put actual money behind the energy grid needed for its expanding data centers.
Entergy last week announced Meta will foot the entire bill for its planned $10 billion hyperscale data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, following a revised agreement that’s expected to deliver roughly $2 billion in customer savings over 20 years—well above the $650 million previously disclosed. The scope: seven gas-fired plants with a combined capacity exceeding 5.2 gigawatts, along with improvements to high-voltage transmission, battery storage, and nuclear assets.
Phillip May, chief of Entergy Louisiana, cited “targeted investments that strengthen reliability.” Over at Meta, Rachel Peterson, VP for data centers, stressed their arrangement keeps costs off other consumers: “other consumers aren’t paying our costs.” Entergy
Mizuho’s Anthony Crowdell lifted his Entergy price target to $120, up from $112, while keeping his Outperform rating intact on Monday. In his note, Crowdell flagged that the 5.2-gigawatt phase alone could tack on about 85 cents per share to earnings beyond 2030.
UBS analyst William Appicelli hasn’t budged from his Buy rating or that $120 price target, citing the Meta deal and Entergy’s steady regulated capex pipeline as reasons for the stock’s premium valuation. UBS points out that Entergy’s mix of assets and strong regulatory alignment give it a shot at outgrowing much of its sector, looking forward.
That aligns with Entergy’s broader game plan. In February, the New Orleans-based utility bumped up its planned capital outlays by $2 billion, bringing the 2026-2029 forecast to $43 billion. Entergy also pointed to its current data-center contracts, saying those agreements should lock in around $5 billion in fixed-cost contributions over their lifespans—cash it expects will help take some of the strain off residential customers.
Entergy isn’t alone in hunting new AI-fueled power demand. Constellation Energy is pressing regulators to help revive Three Mile Island for Microsoft’s data center needs, and Google, Reuters reports, has agreed to restart a NextEra facility out in Iowa. The surge from Big Tech is pushing utilities to overhaul where and how they invest.
The deal is far from sealed. Entergy’s latest Louisiana plan still sits with regulators, who aren’t expected to rule until the fourth quarter of 2026. Skeptics warn customers could shoulder risk if Meta’s power usage falls off, though Entergy maintains Meta will carry its own cost burden as per the contract.
Management is set to break down the financial hit from the Meta expansion during its first-quarter earnings release on April 29. Investors are watching closely, with shares sitting just below record levels after a seven-day rally.
