Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 2.8% – What’s Next?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price was up 2.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $18.81 and last traded at $18.7650. Approximately 27,298,994 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 66% from the average daily volume of 16,412,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ET. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 target price (down from $25.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Energy Transfer to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.36.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.13.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a $0.335 dividend. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 107.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.95 per share, for a total transaction of $16,950,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 104,577,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,593,760.85. This represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Mountain Capital Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Mountain Capital Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,007 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Marks Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Marks Wealth LLC now owns 12,560 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 39,845 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Avos Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Avos Capital Management LLC now owns 76,695 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SP Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 30,631 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 589 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.