Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on TC Energy (NYSE:TRP)

TC Energy Co. (NYSE:TRP) (TSE:TRP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 16,157 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,446% compared to the typical volume of 1,045 put options.

TC Energy Stock Up 2.0 %

TRP opened at $48.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 1.23. TC Energy has a one year low of $34.95 and a one year high of $50.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.98.

TC Energy (NYSE:TRP) (TSE:TRP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.42 billion. TC Energy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 29.40%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that TC Energy will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TC Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from TC Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. TC Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TC Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TRP. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of TC Energy by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 56,590 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,672,000 after buying an additional 9,905 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in TC Energy by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,033 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in TC Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,436,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. bought a new stake in TC Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $245,000. Finally, Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of TC Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $2,510,000. 83.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TRP has been the topic of several research reports. US Capital Advisors raised shares of TC Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Veritas raised shares of TC Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Securities began coverage on TC Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on TC Energy from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut TC Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, TC Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.00.

TC Energy Company Profile

TC Energy Corporation operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. It operates through five segments: Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines; U.S. Natural Gas Pipelines; Mexico Natural Gas Pipelines; Liquids Pipelines; and Power and Energy Solutions. The company builds and operates a network of 93,600 kilometers of natural gas pipelines, which transports natural gas from supply basins to local distribution companies, power generation plants, industrial facilities, interconnecting pipelines, LNG export terminals, and other businesses.