Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $20.70 and last traded at $20.33, with a volume of 2817090 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on ET. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $22.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.73.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.26 and a 200 day moving average of $18.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.57.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.05). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 9.77% and a net margin of 4.66%.The business had revenue of $27.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.3375 per share. This represents a $1.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,956,358 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $597,458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656,609 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,880 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 12,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Encore Global Management LP bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,648,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth approximately $195,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.