Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.00.

A number of research firms have issued reports on ET. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $15.63. 9,375,301 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,407,778. Energy Transfer has a 1 year low of $12.18 and a 1 year high of $16.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $52.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.12 and its 200 day moving average is $14.22.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.06%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 115.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 79,889 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 3,501 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 0.6% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 424,932 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,755,000 after buying an additional 2,403 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 13.7% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 260,824 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,919,000 after purchasing an additional 31,407 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 7.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 159,249 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 10,856 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 43.0% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 192,394 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,153,000 after purchasing an additional 57,880 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.