Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on TC Energy (NYSE:TRP)

TC Energy Corporation (NYSE:TRP) (TSE:TRP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders 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.

TC Energy Stock Down 0.2%

TRP stock opened at $63.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $66.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47 and a beta of 0.72. TC Energy has a 1-year low of $43.59 and a 1-year high of $65.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

TC Energy (NYSE:TRP) (TSE:TRP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The pipeline company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Research analysts predict that TC Energy will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

TC Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.8775 dividend. This is an increase from TC Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. TC Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 106.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TC Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of TC Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in TC Energy during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in TC Energy during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 during the period. Finally, SWAN Capital LLC bought a new stake in TC Energy in the third quarter valued at $40,000. 83.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TRP shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of TC Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of TC Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on TC Energy from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of TC Energy in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on TC Energy from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TC Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.50.

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.