Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 1.4% Higher

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $16.22 and last traded at $16.18. 2,536,694 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 13,516,385 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.62. The firm has a market cap of $54.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company had revenue of $20.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.49 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.93%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.43%.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 3,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $322,097,000. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $594,769,000 after buying an additional 4,141,715 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $350,845,000 after buying an additional 3,976,676 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 13.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis raised its position in Energy Transfer by 20.0% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $283,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,999,300 shares during the period. 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.