Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 2.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) was up 2.3% on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $25.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $21.43 and last traded at $21.4150. Approximately 10,266,343 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 13,353,804 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.94.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Energy Transfer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.08.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director James Richard Perry acquired 12,359 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.23 per share, for a total transaction of $250,022.57. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 208,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,208,770.58. This trade represents a 6.32% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 93.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 11,844 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 62.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,041 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 8,118 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 135,395 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,455,000 after buying an additional 7,901 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 436.5% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,179 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.6% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 50,919 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 2.3%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $73.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.55.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $34.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.71 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 78.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 92.52%.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.