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

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.50.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Friday, January 16th.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.95 per share, for a total transaction of $16,950,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 104,577,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,593,760.85. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 39,845 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.9% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 32,788 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 28,106 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.6% in the second quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 24,056 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 188,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Energy Transfer stock opened at $17.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.07. Energy Transfer has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.16. The stock has a market cap of $61.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 5.66%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 106.40%.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.