Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET)

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 2,062,485 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 3,571% compared to the average volume of 56,177 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.14.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ET stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $16.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,695,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,321,025. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $15.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.44. Energy Transfer has a 12-month low of $12.21 and a 12-month high of $16.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 1.63.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) 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 analyst estimates of $20.91 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. Energy Transfer's revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.317 per share. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.81%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth $322,097,000. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,033,541,000 after buying an additional 9,341,798 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,621,485 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $353,576,000 after buying an additional 7,097,074 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $350,845,000 after buying an additional 3,976,676 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,447.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,756,955 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $518,460,000 after buying an additional 3,514,195 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.