Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 1.4% Higher – Should You Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price traded up 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $19.36 and last traded at $19.3160. 8,620,610 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 14,429,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of 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 company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $23.45.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.45 and its 200 day moving average is $18.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.3375 dividend. This represents a $1.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Energy Transfer by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.