Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) rose 1.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $20.32 and last traded at $20.19. Approximately 4,596,221 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 13,178,051 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $68.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.85 and a 200-day moving average of $17.12.

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

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.46%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 94.85%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted 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 valued at $535,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $67,020,000 after acquiring an additional 3,913,266 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $185,594,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106,631 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,787,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $21,489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269,778 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.