Traders Buy High Volume of Equitrans Midstream Put Options (NYSE:ETRN)

Equitrans Midstream Co. (NYSE:ETRN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 40,061 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 336% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,182 put options.

Equitrans Midstream Stock Performance

Equitrans Midstream stock opened at $12.28 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.30. 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 has a 52 week low of $4.60 and a 52 week high of $13.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.97.

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

Equitrans Midstream Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. Equitrans Midstream’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equitrans Midstream

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ETRN. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equitrans Midstream during the first quarter worth $25,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Equitrans Midstream during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Equitrans Midstream in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in Equitrans Midstream in the 2nd quarter valued at about $410,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Equitrans Midstream during the first quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ETRN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Equitrans Midstream in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Equitrans Midstream from $6.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, TheStreet raised Equitrans Midstream from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equitrans Midstream currently has a consensus 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.