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

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price shot up 1.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $16.72 and last traded at $16.6850. 7,105,008 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 14,985,130 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ET shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.92.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The firm had revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.3325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.0%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 106.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 104,577,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,593,760.85. This represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ET. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 93.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 11,844 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 32.6% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 11,615 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 2,855 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.3% during the first quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,464 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 2,441 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 56.7% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 772,821 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $14,367,000 after buying an additional 279,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 49,342 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 4,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.