Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 1.9%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $15.88 and last traded at $15.82. 4,413,108 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 12,375,201 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho reissued a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.19 and a 200 day moving average of $14.24. The firm has a market cap of $53.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.64.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is currently 115.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ET. Veracity Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.2% during the first quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 32,916 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 107.0% during the first quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 26,906 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 13,906 shares during the last quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.0% during the first quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,288 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. PCG Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 13.7% during the first quarter. PCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,629 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth about $384,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

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.