Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 0.9% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 0.9% during trading on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $23.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $16.30 and last traded at $16.25. 3,090,749 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 13,308,549 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.11.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.14.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,562,909.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 3,040,000 shares of company stock worth $47,667,200 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,097,000. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased 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 purchasing an additional 4,141,715 shares in the last quarter. Natixis boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $283,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,999,300 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Energy Transfer by 117.3% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,867,998 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $53,378,000 after buying an additional 2,088,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,600,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $54.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 5.19%. The company had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.88%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.43%.

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.