Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Increases Dividend to $0.32 Per Share

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of 0.317 per share by the pipeline company on Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32.

Energy Transfer has increased its dividend by an average of 5.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. Energy Transfer has a payout ratio of 74.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Energy Transfer to earn $1.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 79.7%.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Energy Transfer stock traded down $0.07 on Thursday, reaching $15.80. 2,609,080 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,295,503. 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 has a twelve month low of $12.18 and a twelve month high of $16.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.30. The stock has a market cap of $53.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.64.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results 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. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

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.