Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Increases Dividend to $0.34 Per Share

Key Points

• Dividend increase: Energy Transfer declared a quarterly dividend of $0.335 per share (annualized roughly $1.33) with a 7.4% yield
• High payout ratio but currently covered: The company has a dividend payout ratio of about 85.3%, and analysts expect EPS of $1.52 next year (implying an expected payout ratio near 87.5%), so the dividend is covered now but could be vulnerable if earnings decline.
• Market and analyst view: ET trades around $18.11 with a market cap of $62.16 billion and a P/E of 14.5; analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $21.50.

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of 0.335 per share by the pipeline company on Thursday, February 19th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This is a 0.8% increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33.

Energy Transfer has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 4 years. Energy Transfer has a dividend payout ratio of 85.3% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings tumble. Equities research analysts expect Energy Transfer to earn $1.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.33 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 87.5%.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE:ET traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $18.11. 3,441,778 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,362,579. The firm has a market cap of $62.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.66. Energy Transfer has a 52 week low of $14.60 and a 52 week high of $21.16. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $16.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 5.66%.Energy Transfer's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ET. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Energy Transfer to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.50.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer NYSE: ET is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company's operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.

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