Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Should You Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $19.75 and last traded at $19.71. 9,007,061 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 16,512,867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.55.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 1.5 %

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 company has a market cap of $66.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.05.

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

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.3225 dividend. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% in the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% in 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. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 43.6% in the third quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 750 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.