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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Entergy from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Entergy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $86.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Six equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

Entergy Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of ETR traded up $2.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.00. 3,297,521 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,256,440. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Entergy has a 1-year low of $50.19 and a 1-year high of $88.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.59 billion, a PE ratio of 34.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.07 and a 200-day moving average of $74.21.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. The business had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Entergy will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Entergy in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Entergy in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its stake in Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

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.