Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Up 1.6% – Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares were up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $16.55 and last traded at $16.5350. Approximately 14,764,913 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 14,862,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Energy Transfer to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 target price on Energy Transfer and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.75.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.62 and a 200 day moving average of $17.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.65.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 10.71%. The firm had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.3325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.1%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ET. Chelsea Counsel Co. lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 370.3% during the 2nd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 94,050 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 74,050 shares in the last quarter. Ariston Services Group increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 126.7% during the second quarter. Ariston Services Group now owns 100,683 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 56,274 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter worth about $930,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 11.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 275,698 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,125,000 after acquiring an additional 29,404 shares during the period. Finally, Appaloosa LP grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 0.9% during the first quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 4,957,235 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $92,155,000 after acquiring an additional 42,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.