Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from a buy (b) rating to a buy (b+) rating. The company traded as high as $20.88 and last traded at $20.8050, with a volume of 8346087 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.59.

ET has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen raised Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Richard Perry acquired 12,359 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.23 per share, with a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted 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 valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 11,844 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 62.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,041 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 8,118 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 135,395 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,455,000 after acquiring an additional 7,901 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 0.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $71.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.73 and its 200-day moving average is $19.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $34.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.71 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 78.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.