Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Short Interest Update

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,970,000 shares, a growth of 53.4% from the November 30th total of 3,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Entergy from $72.00 to $82.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $58.00 to $75.00 in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Entergy from $83.00 to $79.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Entergy from $68.50 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $29,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $613,431. This represents a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold 14,756 shares of company stock worth $1,095,637 in the last three months. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Entergy by 47.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $693,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Entergy by 53.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,718,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $754,318,000 after buying an additional 1,981,611 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Entergy by 60.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,589,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $472,444,000 after buying an additional 1,354,355 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Entergy by 185.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in shares of Entergy by 12.4% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $741,135,000 after acquiring an additional 763,834 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Trading Down 0.2 %

ETR opened at $75.76 on Monday. Entergy has a one year low of $48.08 and a one year high of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Entergy will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.39%.

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.