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

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 138,721 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 156% compared to the typical volume of 54,091 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ET. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of ET stock opened at $15.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.25. Energy Transfer has a 1 year low of $12.18 and a 1 year high of $16.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 1.64.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 79,889 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 3,501 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 424,932 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,755,000 after acquiring an additional 2,403 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 260,824 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,919,000 after purchasing an additional 31,407 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 159,249 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 10,856 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 43.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 192,394 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,153,000 after purchasing an additional 57,880 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.