Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 2.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) rose 2.3% on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $25.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $21.43 and last traded at $21.4150. 10,266,343 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 13,353,804 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.94.

ET has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James Richard Perry purchased 12,359 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.23 per share, for a total transaction of $250,022.57. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 208,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,208,770.58. The trade was a 6.32% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 2.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.80 and its 200-day moving average is $19.35.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.21. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 4.87%.The company had revenue of $34.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.52%.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.