Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 0.2%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price was up 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $16.12 and last traded at $16.07. Approximately 4,559,281 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 13,390,470 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $54.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.72.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 5.19%. The firm had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.98%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 117.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Energy Transfer news, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,562,909.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,686,992. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.