Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Up 1.6% After Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price shot up 1.6% during trading on Wednesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $22.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $19.46 and last traded at $19.23. 3,888,025 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 16,943,654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.92.

ET has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.55.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 1.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $65.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.56%.

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.