Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 1.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 1.7% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $19.49 and last traded at $19.37. 2,695,479 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 13,706,745 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.55.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 2.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $67.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.85 and a 200-day moving average of $16.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.58%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 12.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $594,769,000 after buying an additional 4,141,715 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 10,195,768 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,107,470 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $261,263,000 after purchasing an additional 171,720 shares during the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,350,521 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $246,376,000 after purchasing an additional 466,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON grew its position in Energy Transfer by 2.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.