Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 1.7% – Here’s Why

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares shot up 1.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.83 and last traded at $16.79. 6,638,348 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 12,966,402 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ET. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $59.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.03. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.01 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.74%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter 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 predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Energy Transfer news, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at $67,562,909.12. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 3,040,000 shares of company stock worth $47,667,200 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the first quarter valued at $29,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 43.6% in the third quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. 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.