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

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET – Get Rating) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 98,719 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 49% compared to the typical volume of 66,199 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ET. Barclays upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET opened at $13.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $40.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.75. Energy Transfer has a 12-month low of $8.75 and a 12-month high of $13.07.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 5.02%. The firm had revenue of $22.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.57 billion. Research analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, CFO Bradford D. Whitehurst purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.00 per share, for a total transaction of $60,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 1,048,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,579,660. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Bradford D. Whitehurst acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.00 per share, with a total value of $60,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,048,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,579,660. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Kelcy L. Warren acquired 155,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.38 per share, for a total transaction of $1,918,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 52,733,477 shares in the company, valued at $652,840,445.26. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 740,000 shares of company stock worth $9,082,900. 3.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Selective Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 383.1% during the 2nd quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,092 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 2,452 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Urban Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. 37.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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Energy Transfer LP provides natural gas pipeline transportation and transmission services. It operates through the following segments: Intrastate Transportation and Storage, Interstate Transportation and Storage, Midstream, NGL and Refined Products Transportation and Services, Crude Oil Transportation and Services, Investment in Sunoco LP, Investment in USAC, and All Other.