Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 1.3% Higher After Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares rose 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $25.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $19.82 and last traded at $19.72. Approximately 2,793,387 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 13,024,881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.47.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. 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 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,825 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,567,000 after purchasing an additional 45,172 shares in the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth $1,297,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 242,042 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,885,000 after buying an additional 57,184 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $535,738,000 after buying an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Street Derivatives LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter worth $2,565,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.09.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.85%.

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.