Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Short Interest Up 37.7% in February

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) was the recipient of a significant 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. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY increased its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% during 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 stake in Entergy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Entergy by 100.0% in 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 Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of ETR stock traded up $0.54 on Monday, reaching $85.53. 2,590,042 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,243,415. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $82.28 and a 200-day moving average of $74.50. The company has a market cap of $36.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.12, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. Entergy has a one year low of $50.19 and a one year high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ETR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Entergy from $165.00 to $82.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

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.