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

TC Energy Co. (NYSE:TRP - Get Free Report) TSE: TRP was the target of some unusual 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 average volume of 1,045 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TC Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NTV Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in TC Energy by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 6,189 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of TC Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,316 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Lee Financial Co lifted its holdings in TC Energy by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Lee Financial Co now owns 8,185 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in TC Energy by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,809 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TC Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 16,003 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.13% of the company's stock.

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TC Energy Price Performance

Shares of TRP stock traded down $2.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.07. 6,088,531 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,645,226. The stock's 50-day moving average is $46.60 and its 200-day moving average is $46.99. 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 52 week low of $34.95 and a 52 week high of $50.37. The stock has a market cap of $47.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.74.

TC Energy (NYSE:TRP - Get Free Report) TSE: TRP last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.54. TC Energy had a return on equity of 12.12% and a net margin of 29.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that TC Energy will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

TC Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change from TC Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.38%. TC Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on TRP shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of TC Energy in a report on Friday. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. TD Securities started coverage on shares of TC Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Veritas raised shares of TC Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded TC Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on TC Energy from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.