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

Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,820,000 shares, a decline of 9.0% from the July 15th total of 3,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ETR shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Entergy from $103.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $109.50 price objective (down previously from $117.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on Entergy from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Entergy from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.73.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,307,787.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Peter S. Norgeot, Jr. sold 11,472 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 37,888 shares in the company, valued at $4,363,182.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 3,200 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at $18,307,787.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 12.4% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $741,135,000 after purchasing an additional 763,834 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 47.1% in the 2nd 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. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,690,000 after acquiring an additional 1,630,057 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Entergy by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,961,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $400,901,000 after purchasing an additional 796,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ClearBridge Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of Entergy by 0.6% during the second quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,137,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $335,671,000 after buying an additional 20,025 shares during the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

ETR traded up $0.50 on Friday, reaching $117.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,209,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,761. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy has a fifty-two week low of $87.10 and a fifty-two week high of $123.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $110.58 and a 200-day moving average of $106.97.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.16. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 14.75%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Entergy will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.34%.

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.