Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Up 0.9% – Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price shot up 0.9% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $16.60 and last traded at $16.58. 3,195,599 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 12,952,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ET. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $56.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.01.

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 the consensus estimate of $22.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.35 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.83%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,562,909.12. 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 accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Thomas E. Long bought 20,000 shares of the business’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 $313,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,562,909.12. This represents 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. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 3,040,000 shares of company stock worth $47,667,200. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 43.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.