Short Interest in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Increases By 5.3%

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, an increase of 5.3% from the August 15th total of 2,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR stock opened at $128.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $116.80 and its 200 day moving average is $110.17. Entergy has a 52 week low of $87.10 and a 52 week high of $128.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Entergy will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.34%.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total value of $2,310,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,140,475.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.16, for a total transaction of $1,321,115.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,363,182.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 19,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.35, for a total transaction of $2,310,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,140,475.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,888 shares of company stock worth $5,110,766. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Entergy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Entergy in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Entergy by 2,172.7% in the first quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. American National Bank raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 93.7% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Entergy during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ETR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $109.50 price objective (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on Entergy from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Entergy from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.58.

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.