Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 1% – Time to Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) was up 1% on Friday . The company traded as high as $19.95 and last traded at $20.03. Approximately 2,762,272 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 16,818,891 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ET. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.18.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.74. The company has a market capitalization of $68.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.54%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $756,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254,721 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $469,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,683 shares during the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $308,319,000 after acquiring an additional 388,073 shares in the last quarter. Natixis grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 14,619,124 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $286,389,000 after acquiring an additional 962,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.8% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 13,139,924 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $210,896,000 after purchasing an additional 352,625 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.