Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Short Interest Up 5.3% in August

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, a growth 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 currently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Entergy from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Entergy from $115.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.35.

Entergy Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ETR traded down $1.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $127.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 404,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,557,490. Entergy has a 12-month low of $87.10 and a 12-month high of $129.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market cap of $27.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $117.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.50.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Entergy will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued 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 dividend yield of 3.56%. Entergy’s payout ratio is 45.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Entergy

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total value of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,092,241.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $388,672.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,888 shares of company stock valued at $5,110,766 over the last 90 days. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Entergy by 2.3% during the second quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 4,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Entergy by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,367,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Entergy by 1.3% during the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.