Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 0.1% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price rose 0.1% on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $20.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $18.65 and last traded at $18.22. Approximately 4,145,066 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 13,688,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.20.

ET has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America began coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.40.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. FMR LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 44.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.7% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $67,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,913,266 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,787,000 after buying an additional 3,013,973 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $62.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.61. 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 results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.3225 dividend. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer’s 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.