Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Given New $21.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) had its price target lowered by Scotiabank from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on ET. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.08.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET traded up $0.38 on Thursday, hitting $17.01. 15,694,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,940,350. Energy Transfer has a 12 month low of $14.60 and a 12 month high of $21.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $0.3325 dividend. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 7th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 106.40%.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 69,178,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,200,938,360.72. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 77,651,021 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,332,492,000 after buying an additional 3,366,734 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 3.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 57,862,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $992,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773,042 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased its position in Energy Transfer by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 38,205,495 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $710,240,000 after purchasing an additional 951,656 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 24,170,455 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $449,329,000 after purchasing an additional 182,705 shares during the period. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 23,351,183 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $400,706,000 after purchasing an additional 326,653 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.