Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 1.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) rose 1.4% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $20.26 and last traded at $20.1860. 8,981,312 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 13,984,393 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on ET shares. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.55.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $69.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.80.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $27.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.78 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 9.77%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.3375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 112.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 86,310,272 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,423,256,000 after acquiring an additional 25,366,594 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the third quarter valued at about $264,309,000. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 83,843,087 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,382,573,000 after purchasing an additional 6,192,066 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth about $61,760,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 3.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 57,862,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $992,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,042 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.