Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.29.

ET has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ET opened at $16.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.59. The stock has a market cap of $54.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer has a 52-week low of $12.89 and a 52-week high of $16.50.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its 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). The company had revenue of $20.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.01 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Energy Transfer will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.97%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.