Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 1.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) traded up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $16.50 and last traded at $16.4510. 17,561,039 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 17% from the average session volume of 15,019,708 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.92.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $56.48 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $16.85 and its 200-day moving average is $17.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.08%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.3325 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.1%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 106.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.95 per share, for a total transaction of $16,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 104,577,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,593,760.85. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $264,309,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the second quarter worth $168,917,000. Commerce Bank purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth $92,607,000. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.5% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 77,651,021 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,332,492,000 after buying an additional 3,366,734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 23,120,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $429,802,000 after buying an additional 2,471,401 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Energy Transfer

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.