Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Down 0.1%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) dropped 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $16.03 and last traded at $16.05. Approximately 3,537,598 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 12,104,850 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ET. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $54.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 1.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.87%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,033,541,000 after purchasing an additional 9,341,798 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,642,769 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $395,270,000 after buying an additional 3,368,427 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,621,485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $353,576,000 after buying an additional 7,097,074 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $350,845,000 after buying an additional 3,976,676 shares during the period. Finally, First Reserve GP XIII Ltd purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth $322,097,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.