Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 1.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price shot up 1.3% on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $25.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $19.82 and last traded at $19.72. 2,793,387 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 13,024,881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.47.

Several other research firms have also commented on ET. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America started coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on 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 upped 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, December 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.82.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ET. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.12. The company has a market cap of $68.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 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.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.3225 per share. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.