Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 0.1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) were up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $19.35 and last traded at $19.08. Approximately 6,024,627 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 13,613,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.18.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.80%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 94.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,825 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,567,000 after acquiring an additional 45,172 shares during the last quarter. GFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 19,380.5% during the third quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 59,692 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 239.0% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 563,458 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,044,000 after purchasing an additional 397,260 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.9% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 698,113 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $11,205,000 after buying an additional 39,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 491.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,290,364 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $20,297,000 after buying an additional 1,072,144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.