Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.82.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Veracity Capital LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 34,898 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 83.8% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 25,970 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 11,842 shares during the period. Madrona Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $251,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 68,428 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 7,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 6,994 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Energy Transfer stock opened at $20.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.16. Energy Transfer has a 52-week low of $13.60 and a 52-week high of $20.40. 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 announced its 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. 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 revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 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.