Energy Transfer Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ET)

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 208,005 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 177% compared to the average daily volume of 75,152 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Energy Transfer news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 591,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,270,188.48. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 44.0% in 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 last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 12.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $594,769,000 after purchasing an additional 4,141,715 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $67,020,000 after buying an additional 3,913,266 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after buying an additional 3,106,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 45.9% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 2.2 %

Energy Transfer stock opened at $17.96 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $61.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.13. Energy Transfer has a twelve month low of $13.11 and a twelve month high of $18.08.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 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 net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Energy Transfer will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.18%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ET. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.

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.