Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price was up 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $20.26 and last traded at $20.1860. Approximately 8,981,312 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 13,984,393 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $23.55.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.80. The company has a market cap of $69.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $27.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.78 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 9.77%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.3375 per share. This represents a $1.35 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 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.