Short Interest in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Expands By 37.7%

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 9,610,000 shares, a growth of 37.7% from the February 13th total of 6,980,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,670,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY increased its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Entergy in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

NYSE:ETR traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $85.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,590,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,243,415. Entergy has a 12 month low of $50.19 and a 12 month high of $88.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.81 billion, a PE ratio of 35.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.50.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ETR shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Entergy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

Entergy Company Profile

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.