Energy Transfer Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ET)

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 1,035,701 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,076% compared to the average daily volume of 47,587 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Energy Transfer to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

Key Energy Transfer News

Here are the key news stories impacting Energy Transfer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: US Capital Advisors raised multiple earnings estimates across quarters and fiscal years (including FY2027 EPS to $1.43 from $1.25), signaling a stronger near‑term earnings outlook that can support the stock and distributions.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage assessing ET’s valuation highlights the company’s recent distribution increase and a multi‑billion dollar growth plan — potentially attractive to income and growth investors if execution and funding assumptions hold. Assessing Energy Transfer (ET) Valuation After Its Latest Distribution Hike And Multi Billion Dollar Growth Plan
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary noted a small intraday price uptick amid broader market weakness — a short‑term technical move rather than new company‑specific fundamentals. Energy Transfer LP (ET) Rises As Market Takes a Dip: Key Facts
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch flagged that ET has underperformed peers recently despite daily gains, suggesting relative weakness that could pressure the stock if competitors capture more market share or investor attention. Energy Transfer LP stock underperforms Tuesday when compared to competitors despite daily gains

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ET traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $18.20. The stock had a trading volume of 14,287,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,316,961. The firm has a market cap of $62.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.00 and a 200-day moving average of $17.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. Energy Transfer has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $20.90.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 10.71%. The business had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a $0.335 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 106.40%.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 104,577,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,593,760.85. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ariston Services Group increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 56,274 shares in the last quarter. Lee Financial Co boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 359.7% during the third quarter. Lee Financial Co now owns 193,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 151,657 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 6.0% in the third quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 6,466,059 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $110,958,000 after purchasing an additional 363,623 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 223.7% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,690,771 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2,687.9% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 1,791,358 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $32,477,000 after buying an additional 1,727,104 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.