Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price rose 1.6% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $19.22 and last traded at $19.0610. Approximately 8,261,105 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 15,111,924 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ET. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.45.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.6%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $65.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.3375 dividend. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 112.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ET. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 100.1% during the 4th quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 161,523 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,664,000 after purchasing an additional 80,786 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 1,311,965 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $21,634,000 after buying an additional 75,700 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 436.6% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 90,160 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,487,000 after buying an additional 73,359 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 277.6% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 219,083 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,759,000 after buying an additional 161,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,898,420 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $375,777,000 after buying an additional 544,944 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.