Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 1.2% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) traded up 1.2% on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $26.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $19.07 and last traded at $19.12. 2,003,072 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 14,460,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.88.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on ET. Barclays increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.09.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $756,840,000 after buying an additional 5,254,721 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $469,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,683 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $387,416,000 after buying an additional 1,093,381 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Energy Transfer by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,331,220 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $319,929,000 after acquiring an additional 2,512,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $308,319,000 after buying an additional 388,073 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $65.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.54 and a 200-day moving average of $18.33.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. Equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.80%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.56%.

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.