Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 0.6%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $16.33 and last traded at $16.30. 1,215,268 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 12,707,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Mizuho upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $21.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.91 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.87%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 116.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.3% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 56,366 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 145,894 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after buying an additional 71,386 shares during the period. Berkley W R Corp lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 11.6% in the first quarter. Berkley W R Corp now owns 5,334,494 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $83,912,000 after buying an additional 555,445 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 28,250 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

About Energy Transfer

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.