Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Equitrans Midstream (NYSE:ETRN)

Equitrans Midstream Co. (NYSE:ETRN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 41,173 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 330% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,579 call options.

Equitrans Midstream Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of ETRN traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $13.43. The stock had a trading volume of 7,826,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,361,025. Equitrans Midstream has a 12-month low of $4.65 and a 12-month high of $13.51. The firm has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $11.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.43.

Equitrans Midstream (NYSE:ETRN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.16. Equitrans Midstream had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 30.89%. The firm had revenue of $360.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Equitrans Midstream will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equitrans Midstream Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. Equitrans Midstream's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.42%.

Institutional Trading of Equitrans Midstream

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equitrans Midstream during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Equitrans Midstream during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Equitrans Midstream by 66.2% during the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitrans Midstream during the first quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Equitrans Midstream during the third quarter valued at about $55,000. 87.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ETRN shares. Barclays upped their price target on Equitrans Midstream from $6.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet raised Equitrans Midstream from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Equitrans Midstream from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Equitrans Midstream in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equitrans Midstream has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $10.86.

Equitrans Midstream Company Profile

Equitrans Midstream Corporation owns, operates, acquires, and develops midstream assets in the Appalachian Basin. The company operates through Gathering, Transmission, and Water segments. It operates dry gas gathering systems of high-pressure gathering lines and FERC-regulated interstate pipelines and storage systems.