Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 1.6% – Time to Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.55 and last traded at $16.5350. Approximately 14,764,913 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 14,862,876 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ET. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.75.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 5.66%.The firm had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.3325 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.0%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 106.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 104,577,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,593,760.85. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chelsea Counsel Co. raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 370.3% in the second quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 94,050 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,705,000 after buying an additional 74,050 shares during the last quarter. Ariston Services Group raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 126.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ariston Services Group now owns 100,683 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 56,274 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth about $930,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 275,698 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,125,000 after acquiring an additional 29,404 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 223.5% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,069,534 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $19,883,000 after purchasing an additional 738,885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.