Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 1.7% – Should You Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $19.52 and last traded at $19.52. 5,410,169 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 13,628,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $66.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.78 and its 200-day moving average is $16.22.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.3225 dividend. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortis Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 31,956 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 33,575 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 102,176 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,640,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morton Capital Management LLC CA increased its position in Energy Transfer by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 44,383 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. 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.