Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $20.70 and last traded at $20.33, with a volume of 2817090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ET shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $22.73.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $19.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.05. The company has a market capitalization of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $25.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.3375 dividend. This represents a $1.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.