Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Climb 1.8% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) were up 1.8% on Friday. The company traded as high as $20.50 and last traded at $20.4550. 11,103,195 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 12,554,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ET shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Capital One Financial initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.93. The company has a market capitalization of $70.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $34.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.71 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 78.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3375. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 92.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James Perry purchased 12,359 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.23 per share, with a total value of $250,022.57. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 208,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,208,770.58. This trade represents a 6.32% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kelcy Warren acquired 647,968 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.26 per share, for a total transaction of $13,775,799.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 147,901,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,144,393,947.54. The trade was a 0.44% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 1,012,359 shares of company stock valued at $21,513,543. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 179.0% in the 1st quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 162,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,129,000 after purchasing an additional 104,000 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 224,439 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 62,916 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,760,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 1,888,661 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $36,451,000 after acquiring an additional 257,954 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the first quarter valued at about $2,170,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer LP is a diversified energy infrastructure company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The partnership owns and operates a broad network of pipelines, processing facilities, storage assets and terminals that support the movement of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil and refined products across the United States.

The company’s operations include gathering and processing natural gas, transporting and storing natural gas and NGLs, fractionating NGLs into component products, and transporting crude oil and refined products.