Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 0.2% – Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price shot up 0.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.40 and last traded at $20.28. 14,533,663 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 27% from the average session volume of 11,469,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ET. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $71.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.23.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ET. Private Client Services LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Client Services LLC now owns 16,915 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160,678 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,148,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 12,847 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Financial Freedom LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 36,381 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.