Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Hits New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares hit a new 52-week high near $19.97, and analysts collectively rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $21.60 after multiple buy/outperform notes.
• Recent quarterly results were mixed — revenue beat but EPS missed ($0.25 vs. $0.34) — and elevated leverage (debt-to-equity ~1.50) could cap multiple expansion and increase execution risk.
• Energy Transfer raised its quarterly dividend to $0.3375 (annualized $1.35), yielding about 6.7%, but the payout ratio (~110.7%) raises concerns about dividend sustainability.

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $19.97 and last traded at $19.9650, with a volume of 8029643 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.76.

More Energy Transfer News

Here are the key news stories impacting Energy Transfer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: US Capital Advisors raised EPS forecasts across multiple quarters and fiscal years, lifting Q1–Q4 2026 quarterly estimates (Q1 to $0.30, Q2 to $0.31, Q3 to $0.31, Q4 to $0.34) and boosting FY2026 to $1.26 (from $1.17), FY2027 to $1.29 and FY2028 to $1.31 — supporting a stronger earnings outlook that can justify higher valuation and dividend coverage. US Capital Advisors estimate revisions
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent press coverage and search interest have picked up—Zacks/Yahoo and related articles highlight increased trading interest and attention on ET, which can amplify intraday momentum but does not by itself change fundamentals. Zacks: ET increases despite market slip
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage (Yahoo finance / Zacks “Investors Heavily Search” and a Fool long‑term bull case piece) may draw further retail/institutional attention; these items tend to affect flows and sentiment more than near‑term fundamentals. Yahoo: Investors Heavily Search ET Fool: Long-term bull case
• Negative Sentiment: Recent reported results (Feb 17) showed a revenue beat but an EPS miss (Q4 EPS $0.25 vs. consensus $0.34). That earnings miss and still‑elevated leverage metrics can cap multiple expansion and are a reminder of execution and commodity‑price sensitivity risks. MarketBeat: Q4 results and metrics

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.60.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.72. The firm has a market cap of $69.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.62.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $25.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.56 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 29.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $0.3375 dividend. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $1.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is currently 110.74%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Interstate Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth about $222,000. Frankly Finances LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 84.7% in the first quarter. Frankly Finances LLC now owns 7,850 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.2% in the first quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 598,340 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $11,548,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.4% in the first quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 17,712 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth about $803,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

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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