Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on ET shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, April 18th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at approximately $281,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 242,760 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,386,000 after purchasing an additional 5,868 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 116.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 82,172 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 44,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 146,752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 21,980 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $15.84 on Thursday. Energy Transfer has a 52 week low of $12.18 and a 52 week high of $16.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.64.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.95%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.60%.

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.