Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 0.7% – Should You Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price traded up 0.7% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $17.71 and last traded at $17.54. 8,362,301 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 13,119,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $59.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.03.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The business had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.37%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 107.56%.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at $67,562,909.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 3,040,000 shares of company stock worth $47,667,200. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ET. Fortis Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 31,956 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2.0% in the second quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 33,575 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2.2% in the first quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 31,406 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Finally, Haverford Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 102,176 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,640,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.