Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 0.4% – Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 0.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $19.46 and last traded at $19.36. 3,173,013 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 13,645,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.55.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $67.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.09 and its 200-day moving average is $16.79.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 32.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 94,442 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after buying an additional 23,079 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth $163,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 76,040 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 16,346 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 7.7% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,407,317 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $22,827,000 after purchasing an additional 100,312 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.7% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 138,936 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,254,000 after purchasing an additional 21,897 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.