Stock Traders Buy High Volume of TC Energy Put Options (NYSE:TRP)

Key Points

• Traders bought 16,157 put options on TC Energy on Wednesday — a 1,446% increase versus the typical daily volume of 1,045 puts, signaling unusually heavy bearish or hedging activity.
• TC Energy raised its quarterly dividend to $0.8775 (annualized $3.51) for a 5.6% yield, but the dividend payout ratio is about 110.78%, which may raise sustainability concerns.
• Analysts' consensus is an average rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $72.50.

TC Energy Corporation (NYSE:TRP - Get Free Report) TSE: TRP was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 16,157 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,446% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,045 put options.

Institutional Trading of TC Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRP. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in TC Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of TC Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of TC Energy by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 594 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of TC Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, SWAN Capital LLC purchased a new position in TC Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TRP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of TC Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of TC Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered shares of TC Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of TC Energy in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of TC Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, TC Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.50.

TC Energy Stock Performance

Shares of TRP stock opened at $62.23 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $61.97 and its 200 day moving average is $56.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78 and a beta of 0.69. TC Energy has a 12 month low of $43.59 and a 12 month high of $65.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

TC Energy (NYSE:TRP - Get Free Report) TSE: TRP last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The pipeline company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. TC Energy had a net margin of 23.04% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that TC Energy will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

TC Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.8775 dividend. This represents a $3.51 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. This is a boost from TC Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. TC Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.78%.

TC Energy Company Profile

TC Energy NYSE: TRP is a North American energy infrastructure company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Formerly known as TransCanada, the company rebranded as TC Energy to reflect its broad presence across Canada, the United States and Mexico. TC Energy develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of energy infrastructure assets that play a central role in the transportation and delivery of energy across the continent.

The company's principal businesses include long‑distance natural gas transmission, liquids (crude oil) pipelines, natural gas storage and power generation.

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