Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 1.7% – Here’s What Happened

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $19.02 and last traded at $18.92. 3,201,763 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 14,477,267 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ET shares. 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. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.33. The firm has a market cap of $64.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.89%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $756,840,000 after buying an additional 5,254,721 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its position in Energy Transfer by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $469,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,683 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $387,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,381 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,331,220 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $319,929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,512,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $308,319,000 after purchasing an additional 388,073 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.