Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Equitrans Midstream (NYSE:ETRN)

Equitrans Midstream Co. (NYSE:ETRN) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 40,061 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 336% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,182 put options.

Equitrans Midstream Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of ETRN traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.29. 4,441,459 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,345,218. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.27. The company has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.97. Equitrans Midstream has a 1-year low of $4.60 and a 1-year high of $13.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.83.

Equitrans Midstream (NYSE:ETRN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $360.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $348.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Equitrans Midstream will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Equitrans Midstream Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 5th. Equitrans Midstream’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ETRN. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Equitrans Midstream by 125.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 516,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,838,000 after buying an additional 287,176 shares during the last quarter. Valueworks LLC increased its holdings in Equitrans Midstream by 14.7% in the third quarter. Valueworks LLC now owns 765,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,170,000 after buying an additional 97,940 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Equitrans Midstream in the third quarter valued at about $2,555,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Equitrans Midstream in the third quarter valued at about $3,533,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Equitrans Midstream by 16.5% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 234,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,195,000 after buying an additional 33,134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Equitrans Midstream from $6.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. TheStreet raised Equitrans Midstream from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Equitrans Midstream in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Equitrans Midstream from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.