Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 2.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price shot up 2.3% on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $22.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $18.77 and last traded at $18.69. 3,362,042 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 13,688,892 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.27.

ET has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.55.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 44.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 43.6% during the third quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $63.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.61.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 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 analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 6.91%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 94.85%.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.