Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Up 2.6%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price shot up 2.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $15.65 and last traded at $15.62. 6,714,783 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 12,376,579 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ET. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.71.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.22. The stock has a market cap of $52.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.64.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 115.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. VitalStone Financial LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. Finally, IMA Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 2,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.