Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 0.4% Higher

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 0.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $16.23 and last traded at $16.19. 2,918,973 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 12,084,430 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.43.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.80%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 115.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 146,943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 77,938 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 4,340 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 230.9% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 736,634 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $10,335,000 after acquiring an additional 513,989 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in Energy Transfer by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 28,250 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fractal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 5,682,061 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $79,719,000 after purchasing an additional 647,885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.