Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 0.5% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 0.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $19.77 and last traded at $19.74. 2,364,376 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 14,885,208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ET has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.55.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $67.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $18.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.99.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.54%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.85%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 43.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.