Energy Transfer Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ET)

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 2,062,485 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 3,571% compared to the average volume of 56,177 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ET. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.14.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of ET traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $16.23. 20,452,225 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,311,496. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.52 and a 200-day moving average of $14.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Energy Transfer has a one year low of $12.21 and a one year high of $16.40. The firm has a market cap of $54.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 1.63.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $21.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.91 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.317 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.81%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ET. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.