Royal Bank of Canada Raises Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Price Target to $20.00

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) had its target price raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on ET. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ET opened at $16.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $55.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer has a one year low of $12.90 and a one year high of $16.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The business had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.80%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,686,992. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 591,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,270,188.48. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $594,769,000 after buying an additional 4,141,715 shares in the last quarter. Natixis increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.0% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $283,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,999,300 shares during the last quarter. Payden & Rygel Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth about $20,164,000. Merewether Investment Management LP increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 22.3% in the second quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 6,591,793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $106,919,000 after buying an additional 1,200,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Progeny 3 Inc. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 104.6% during the 1st quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,205,785 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127,500 shares during the last quarter. 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.