Equitrans Midstream Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ETRN)

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ETRN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Equitrans Midstream in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. TheStreet upgraded Equitrans Midstream from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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, Barclays upped their price objective on Equitrans Midstream from $6.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Equitrans Midstream by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Equitrans Midstream by 11.8% during the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 14,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Equitrans Midstream by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 14,227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC increased its stake in Equitrans Midstream by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 43,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Equitrans Midstream by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 33,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the period. 87.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equitrans Midstream Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ETRN opened at $12.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.29. Equitrans Midstream has a fifty-two week low of $4.60 and a fifty-two week high of $13.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.83.

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

Equitrans Midstream Announces Dividend

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

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.