Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Up 0.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares were up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $20.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $18.65 and last traded at $18.22. Approximately 4,145,066 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 13,688,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.20.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ET. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.40.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. &PARTNERS increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 215.9% during the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 32,011 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 21,879 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Capital Management raised its position in Energy Transfer by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Avalon Capital Management now owns 77,121 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $499,000. TrueWealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at approximately $171,000. Finally, Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 9.5% in the second quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,588 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $62.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The business’s 50-day moving average is $17.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.08%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.85%.

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.