Investors Purchase Large Volume of Energy Transfer Call Options (NYSE:ET)

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 890,421 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 826% compared to the average daily volume of 96,205 call options.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 2.0 %

Energy Transfer stock traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $20.37. The stock had a trading volume of 14,762,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,605,279. The stock has a market cap of $69.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.59. Energy Transfer has a one year low of $13.79 and a one year high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ET. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $535,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,768 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $308,319,000 after buying an additional 388,073 shares during the period. Brookfield Corp ON boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2.8% in the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 13,139,924 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $210,896,000 after acquiring an additional 352,625 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 36.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106,631 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $153,787,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,973 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer LP provides energy-related services. The company owns and operates natural gas transportation pipeline, and natural gas storage facilities in Texas and Oklahoma; and approximately 20,090 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline. It also sells natural gas to electric utilities, independent power plants, local distribution and other marketing companies, and industrial end-users.