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

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 126,415 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 41% compared to the typical volume of 89,475 call options.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock opened at $20.94 on Thursday. Energy Transfer has a 12 month low of $13.79 and a 12 month high of $21.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.16 and a 200 day moving average of $17.26. The firm has a market cap of $71.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.70.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The business had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Energy Transfer will post 1.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.3225 dividend. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% during the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Energy Transfer

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.