Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 2.1% – Should You Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price shot up 2.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $17.87 and last traded at $17.58. 7,650,540 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 15,488,080 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ET. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $59.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. The company had revenue of $21.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.3275 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.52%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 99.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 164.1% during the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,566 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 37,633 shares in the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 7,586,598 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $148,621,000 after acquiring an additional 293,088 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 135,281 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,650,000 after buying an additional 41,438 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 435.5% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 68,724 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,346,000 after buying an additional 55,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FFG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 1,650,574 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $32,335,000 after purchasing an additional 13,948 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently 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.