Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Hits New 12-Month High at $16.05

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $16.05 and last traded at $15.99, with a volume of 1115938 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on ET shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (up from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.2 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.39 and a 200 day moving average of $14.35. The stock has a market cap of $53.89 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.317 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.93%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is 115.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ET. RWA Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 53.1% during the 1st quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,835 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 338,048 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,317,000 after acquiring an additional 15,144 shares during the period. Private Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Private Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 821,336 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $12,920,000 after acquiring an additional 4,987 shares during the period. Finer Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Finer Wealth Management Inc. now owns 153,726 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 39,237 shares during the period. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $265,000. 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.