Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 1.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares shot up 1.3% during trading 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 were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 13,024,881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.47.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ET. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.82.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 65.0% in the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 2.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $68.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $18.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced 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 net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.3225 dividend. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.49%. 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.