Short Interest in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Grows By 32.6%

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,590,000 shares, a growth of 32.6% from the December 15th total of 4,970,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,410,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Entergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 29th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Entergy from $68.50 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp cut Entergy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.37.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 8,268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.52, for a total transaction of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $292,210.88. This represents a 60.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,756 shares of company stock worth $1,095,637 over the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ETR. FCG Investment Co lifted its stake in Entergy by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 11,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 5,627 shares during the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Entergy during the 4th quarter valued at $229,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Entergy by 97.8% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 40,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after acquiring an additional 20,238 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Entergy by 324.3% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

Entergy stock opened at $82.16 on Friday. Entergy has a 52-week low of $48.08 and a 52-week high of $82.50. The company has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.81 and its 200 day moving average is $66.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.04. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. The firm had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Entergy will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.47%.

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.