Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Now Covered by Analysts at TD Cowen

TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Free Report) in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $22.00 target price on the pipeline company's stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on ET. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.58.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ET traded down $0.04 on Monday, hitting $17.72. The company had a trading volume of 4,025,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,746,760. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.46. The stock has a market cap of $60.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79. Energy Transfer has a 1-year low of $14.60 and a 1-year high of $21.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The business had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Energy Transfer's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.3275 per share. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is currently 99.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Energy Transfer news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total transaction of $25,299.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $453,185.04. This represents a 5.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, United Community Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company's stock.

About Energy Transfer

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.