Short Interest in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Grows By 9.0%

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) saw a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,380,000 shares, a growth of 9.0% from the September 15th total of 3,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,363,182.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.46, for a total transaction of $388,672.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of Entergy 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,810 shares of company stock valued at $6,140,626 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,413,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 21,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,822,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Entergy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 10,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 7,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Entergy by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR traded up $0.33 on Thursday, hitting $134.65. 1,071,761 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,562,740. Entergy has a fifty-two week low of $90.78 and a fifty-two week high of $135.16. The stock has a market cap of $28.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $124.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

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

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ETR shares. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Entergy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on Entergy from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Entergy from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Entergy from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.96.

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.