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

TC Energy Corporation (NYSE:TRP) (TSE:TRP) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on TRP shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of TC Energy in a report on Monday, February 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of TC Energy from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. TD Securities lowered shares of TC Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. National Bank Financial cut TC Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TC Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.50.

TC Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TRP opened at $63.84 on Thursday. TC Energy has a fifty-two week low of $43.59 and a fifty-two week high of $65.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $66.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47 and a beta of 0.72.

TC Energy (NYSE:TRP) (TSE:TRP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The pipeline company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. TC Energy had a net margin of 23.04% and a return on equity of 10.52%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that TC Energy will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

TC Energy Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in TC Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in TC Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in TC Energy by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 594 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in TC Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, SWAN Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of TC Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.13% of the company’s stock.

About TC Energy

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.