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

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 357,811 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 402% compared to the typical volume of 71,256 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.09.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:ET traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.22. 16,161,297 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,515,185. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $59.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $17.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.50. Energy Transfer has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The business had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.3275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.61%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.34%.

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.