Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 0.7% - Time to Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) shares rose 0.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $17.26 and last traded at $17.16. Approximately 4,569,223 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 15,492,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ET. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $59.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50-day moving average is $17.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.53.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.3275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.61%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 12,090.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,455,613 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $244,005,000 after acquiring an additional 12,353,441 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 12.9% during the first 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 during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $756,840,000 after buying an additional 5,254,721 shares during the period. Commerce Bank purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the first quarter valued at approximately $92,607,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,113,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.