Short Interest in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) Increases By 28.9%

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 16,814,807 shares, an increase of 28.9% from the March 15th total of 13,046,166 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,337,189 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ETR shares. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 price target on Entergy in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Entergy in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Siebert Williams Shank started coverage on Entergy in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $109.00 price target for the company. Argus upped their price target on Entergy from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $112.00 price target on shares of Entergy in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Entergy news, EVP John C. Dinelli sold 5,372 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.95, for a total value of $558,419.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,454,155.55. This represents a 18.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,161,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,441,000 after purchasing an additional 135,390 shares in the last quarter. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Entergy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,199,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Entergy by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 374,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,582,000 after purchasing an additional 117,009 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Entergy by 170.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 60,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,599,000 after purchasing an additional 38,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Entergy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 105,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,994 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Entergy Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of ETR opened at $114.96 on Thursday. Entergy has a 1 year low of $79.40 and a 1 year high of $117.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.91. The stock has a market cap of $52.63 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.57.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.01). Entergy had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 13.66%.The company had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Entergy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Entergy will post 3.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.47%.

About Entergy

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) is an integrated energy company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, that generates, transmits and distributes electricity. The company’s operations combine regulated utility services with competitive power production, supplying retail electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers while also participating in wholesale energy markets. Entergy’s generation fleet includes nuclear, natural gas, hydropower and other resources, and it operates a network of transmission and distribution assets to deliver power to end users.

Entergy conducts its regulated utility business through state-based operating subsidiaries that serve customers across parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and southeast Texas.