Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 0.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares traded up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $22.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $18.65 and last traded at $18.22. 4,145,066 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 13,688,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.20.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.55.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.8% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the period. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 43.6% in the third quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 3.2 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $17.80 and its 200-day moving average is $16.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.3225 dividend. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.85%.

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.