Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 2.6%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares rose 2.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.65 and last traded at $15.62. Approximately 6,714,783 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 12,376,579 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ET has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (up from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $53.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.24.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 79,889 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 3,501 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 424,932 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,755,000 after acquiring an additional 2,403 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 260,824 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,919,000 after acquiring an additional 31,407 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 7.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 159,249 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 10,856 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 43.0% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 192,394 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,153,000 after purchasing an additional 57,880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.