Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 2.8% – Should You Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price shot up 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $18.81 and last traded at $18.7650. 27,298,994 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 66% from the average session volume of 16,412,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.26.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Energy Transfer to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.36.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 2.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $64.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $17.17 and its 200 day moving average is $17.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 107.20%.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 104,577,803 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,593,760.85. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 11,844 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 62.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,041 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 8,118 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 39,845 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 145,388 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,636,000 after buying an additional 9,399 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 34,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

About Energy Transfer

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.