Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR): What You Have To Know Before Buying For The Upcoming Dividend

Important news for shareholders and potential investors in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR): The dividend payment of $0.89 per share will be distributed into shareholder on 01 March 2018, and the stock will begin trading ex-dividend at an earlier date, 07 February 2018. Investors looking for higher income-generating stocks to add to their portfolio should keep reading, as I examine Entergy's latest financial data to analyse its dividend characteristics. See our latest analysis for Entergy

Here's how I find good dividend stocks

Whenever I am looking at a potential dividend stock investment, I always check these five metrics:

• Is it paying an annual yield above 75% of dividend payers?
• Does it consistently pay out dividends without missing a payment or significantly cutting payout?
• Has dividend per share amount increased over the past?
• Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?
• Based on future earnings growth, will it be able to continue to payout dividend at the current rate?

How well does Entergy fit our criteria?

Entergy has a negative payout ratio, meaning that the company is not yet profitable and is paying dividend by dipping into its retained earnings. If dividend is a key criteria in your investment consideration, then you need to make sure the dividend stock you're eyeing out is reliable in its payments. In the case of ETR it has increased its DPS from $3 to $3.56 in the past 10 years. It has also been paying out dividend consistently during this time, as you'd expect for a company increasing its dividend levels. These are all positive signs of a great, reliable dividend stock. Compared to its peers, Entergy has a yield of 4.69%, which is high for Electric Utilities stocks.

Next Steps:

Keeping in mind the dividend characteristics above, Entergy is definitely worth considering for investors looking to build a dedicated income portfolio. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. I've put together three essential factors you should further research:

• 1. Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for ETR’s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for ETR’s outlook.
• 2. Valuation: What is ETR worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, it's not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether ETR is currently mispriced by the market.
• 3. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

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Simply Wall St analyst Simply Wall St and Simply Wall St have no position in any of the companies mentioned. This article is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.