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

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 922,869 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 2,183% compared to the average daily volume of 40,422 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $23.00 target price (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.23.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

NYSE:ET traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $16.86. The stock had a trading volume of 22,793,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,883,168. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.42. Energy Transfer has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $21.45. The stock has a market cap of $57.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be given a $0.3325 dividend. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.9%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 69,178,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,200,938,360.72. This represents a 1.99% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chelsea Counsel Co. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 370.3% during the 2nd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 94,050 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 74,050 shares during the period. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 316.9% during the 1st quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117,312 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 89,173 shares during the period. Ariston Services Group grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 126.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ariston Services Group now owns 100,683 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 56,274 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $930,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 223.5% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,069,534 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $19,883,000 after acquiring an additional 738,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.