Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP)

Icahn Enterprises L.P. (NASDAQ:IEP) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 11,117 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 153% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,392 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Icahn Enterprises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Icahn Enterprises

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IEP. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Icahn Enterprises by 621.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 270,995 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,610,000 after acquiring an additional 233,410 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Icahn Enterprises by 4,461,650.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 178,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,068,000 after purchasing an additional 178,466 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Icahn Enterprises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,675,000. Crew Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Icahn Enterprises during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $628,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Icahn Enterprises by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 103,448 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,760,000 after buying an additional 34,003 shares during the period. 87.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Icahn Enterprises Stock Down 1.0 %

IEP stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.59. The stock had a trading volume of 854,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,655. Icahn Enterprises has a one year low of $14.69 and a one year high of $22.59. The company’s 50 day moving average is $16.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.43. The company has a quick ratio of 4.62, a current ratio of 4.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The conglomerate reported ($0.72) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.91). The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. Icahn Enterprises had a negative net margin of 4.30% and a negative return on equity of 7.04%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.72) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Icahn Enterprises will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Icahn Enterprises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 25.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 19th. Icahn Enterprises’s dividend payout ratio is presently -347.83%.

Icahn Enterprises Company Profile

Icahn Enterprises L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the investment, energy, automotive, food packaging, real estate, home fashion, and pharma businesses in the United States and Internationally. The Investment segment invests its proprietary capital through various private investment funds. This segment provides investment advisory and other related services.