Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 0.7% Higher

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $16.08 and last traded at $16.00. 3,566,194 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 12,097,130 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $15.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.317 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 115.60%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the third quarter worth $257,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 31.2% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 37,575 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 8,934 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.1% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 77,753 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after acquiring an additional 5,174 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.7% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 254,305 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,568,000 after acquiring an additional 6,771 shares during the period. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Energy Transfer

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.