Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Short Interest Update

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,390,000 shares, an increase of 8.1% from the March 15th total of 2,210,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ETR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Entergy from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $117.00 target price on shares of Entergy in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Entergy from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.78.

Insider Transactions at Entergy

In other news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total transaction of $874,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,019,247.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total transaction of $874,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,019,247.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.23, for a total value of $151,845.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $348,433.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,000 shares of company stock worth $1,226,685. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Entergy by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 739 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. increased its holdings in Entergy by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 3,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance increased its holdings in Entergy by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 8,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 5,778 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR stock traded up $2.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $103.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,662,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,361,833. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $102.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Entergy has a one year low of $87.10 and a one year high of $109.85. The firm has a market cap of $22.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.71.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.54% and a net margin of 19.41%. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Entergy will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Entergy's payout ratio is presently 40.76%.

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.