Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Price Target Raised to $21.00 at Morgan Stanley

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $19.00 to $21.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on ET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.40.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of ET stock opened at $18.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Energy Transfer has a 1-year low of $14.60 and a 1-year high of $19.30. The firm has a market cap of $62.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.63.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.09). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $25.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.74%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 93.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 11,844 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 62.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,041 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 8,118 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 46,941 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 9,594 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $391,000. Finally, PFG Advisors boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 60,189 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.