Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Short Interest Up 37.7% in February

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 9,610,000 shares, a growth of 37.7% from the February 13th total of 6,980,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,670,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ETR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Entergy from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Entergy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $85.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $87.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.32.

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Entergy Stock Performance

Shares of ETR traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $84.64. 1,676,761 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,293,982. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68. Entergy has a fifty-two week low of $50.19 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38. The business's 50 day moving average is $82.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.73.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 8.90% and a return on equity of 10.68%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Entergy will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Entergy's payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Entergy in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. NBT Bank N A NY increased its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 340 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Entergy by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 358 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company's stock.

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.