Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 1.2% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price traded up 1.2% during trading on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $20.11 and last traded at $20.05. 5,262,764 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 17,081,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.81.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.33%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.48 and a 200 day moving average of $17.41. The firm has a market cap of $70.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.70.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ET. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $535,738,000 after buying an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $67,020,000 after buying an additional 3,913,266 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after buying an additional 3,106,631 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $153,787,000 after buying an additional 3,013,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $21,489,000 after buying an additional 1,269,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.