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

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 96,003 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 115% compared to the typical volume of 44,591 call options.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $17.35. 7,209,570 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,269,015. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Energy Transfer has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year high of $21.45. The firm has a market cap of $59.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 5.66%.The business had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.3325 dividend. This represents a $1.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.7%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 106.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price objective on Energy Transfer and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

Insider Activity

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 104,577,803 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,593,760.85. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. CNB Bank grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 111.1% during the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 54.4% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,270 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.