Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $19.35 and last traded at $19.24, with a volume of 1196311 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.22. The company has a market cap of $65.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given 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 6.72%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 94.85%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 6.8% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 15,675 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 84,530 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 34,749 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 101,738 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 1,265.0% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 231,398 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,714,000 after buying an additional 214,446 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer by 4.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 78,806 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after buying an additional 3,485 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.