Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 1.9% - What's Next?

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $17.80 and last traded at $17.77. 3,084,197 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 15,490,683 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ET. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $61.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $17.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.52.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The company had revenue of $21.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.3275 per share. This represents a $1.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.31%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is currently 99.24%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 75,353,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,400,831,000 after buying an additional 8,613,645 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $756,840,000 after acquiring an additional 5,254,721 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 38,205,495 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $710,240,000 after purchasing an additional 951,656 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 0.8% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 24,170,455 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $449,329,000 after acquiring an additional 182,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $387,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,381 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.