Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Up 1.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares shot up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $25.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $18.83 and last traded at $18.7750. 16,703,391 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 15,835,364 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.56.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ET. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.60.

Energy Transfer News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Energy Transfer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $25 and moved ET to an “overweight” rating, implying roughly 33% upside from current levels — a clear catalyst for buying interest. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley increased its price target to $21, reinforcing the analyst-driven bid into the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market reports note ET is trading up following analyst upgrades, reflecting immediate buying flow tied to the research calls. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Macro energy news — oil futures spiking toward $100 on Iran/Strait of Hormuz tensions — is lifting midstream names and ETF interest, which benefits ET’s fee-based transport and storage business. 4 ETFs That Are Worth Buying For $100 Oil
• Positive Sentiment: Investor pieces highlighting ET as a reliable dividend stock and a high-yield pipeline pick are supporting longer-term demand from income-focused buyers. Stock Market Crash: The Best Dividend Stocks to Buy Right Now
• Positive Sentiment: Additional retail coverage lists ET among high-yield pipeline names to buy and hold, reinforcing the narrative of stable cash flow and distribution support. 3 High-Yield Pipeline Stocks to Buy Now and Hold Forever
• Neutral Sentiment: News wires and market summaries reporting recent intraday gains provide confirmation of the move but add little new fundamental information. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage weighing dividend yield scenarios and geopolitical comments from the White House highlights uncertainty about how policy shifts could swing oil and midstream sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The planned U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve release (172M barrels) is a potential headwind for oil prices; lower crude could reduce short-term volumes or margin pressure for some midstream segments even though past SPR actions sometimes benefited ET. Monitor how the SPR and supply flows evolve. Prediction: One Surprise Winner Emerges as Strategic Reserves Are Released

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position 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 worth $481,000 after buying an additional 11,844 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 62.8% during the first 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 raised its position in Energy Transfer by 25.7% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 46,941 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 9,594 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 242,036 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,388,000 after acquiring an additional 35,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 247,599 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,489,000 after acquiring an additional 6,857 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $64.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.30.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $25.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.56 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.17%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.1%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 110.74%.

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.