Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 1.9% Higher

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 1.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $15.88 and last traded at $15.82. 4,413,108 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 12,375,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ET. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (up from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $53.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $15.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.46 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.94%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ET. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 109,332.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 145,943,387 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,732,348,000 after buying an additional 145,810,023 shares during the period. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,097,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 81,532,518 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,125,149,000 after purchasing an additional 18,087,249 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 76,339,168 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $906,146,000 after purchasing an additional 13,220,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,033,541,000 after purchasing an additional 9,341,798 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.