Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 1.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price was up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $18.47 and last traded at $18.42. Approximately 22,286,720 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 37% from the average daily volume of 16,310,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price target (down previously from $25.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 target price on Energy Transfer and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.50.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.5%

The stock has a market cap of $63.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.3%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.40%.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 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, for a total transaction of $16,950,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 104,577,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,593,760.85. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CNB Bank lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 111.1% in the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 54.4% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,270 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Core Alternative Capital purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,964 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,964 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.