Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 0.1% – Here’s Why

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $21.24 and last traded at $21.09. 2,944,132 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 14,753,303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ET. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.70.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.12%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 94.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,825 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,567,000 after buying an additional 45,172 shares during the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $1,297,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 30.9% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 242,042 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 57,184 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 435.5% during the fourth quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 68,724 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 55,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $535,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer LP provides energy-related services. The company owns and operates natural gas transportation pipeline, and natural gas storage facilities in Texas and Oklahoma; and approximately 20,090 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline. It also sells natural gas to electric utilities, independent power plants, local distribution and other marketing companies, and industrial end-users.