Energy Transfer (NYSEAMERICAN:ET) Stock Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Energy Transfer shares crossed above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $21.02 and last changing hands at $20.88. The 50-day average is $20.77, compared with a 200-day average of $19.63.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.60, above the current share price.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.59 versus a $0.38 estimate and revenue up 78.4% year over year. Energy Transfer also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.3425 per share, implying a 6.6% annualized yield.

Energy Transfer LP (NYSEAMERICAN:ET - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.77 and traded as high as $21.02. Energy Transfer shares last traded at $20.88, with a volume of 9,308,975 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ET. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Mizuho set a $26.00 price target on Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Capital One Financial began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Energy Transfer from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.60.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.8%

The firm has a market cap of $71.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $20.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.63.

Energy Transfer (NYSEAMERICAN:ET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.21. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm had revenue of $34.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 78.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.3425 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is 92.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James Perry bought 12,359 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.23 per share, with a total value of $250,022.57. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 208,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,208,770.58. The trade was a 6.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 647,968 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.26 per share, for a total transaction of $13,775,799.68. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 147,901,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,144,393,947.54. The trade was a 0.44% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,012,359 shares of company stock valued at $21,513,543. 3.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth $61,760,000. SCS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,859.8% during the second quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,942,908 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $37,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,771 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,956,358 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $597,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656,609 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 86.8% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,404,756 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $27,112,000 after purchasing an additional 652,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 48.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,982,403 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $38,260,000 after purchasing an additional 649,718 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer LP is a diversified energy infrastructure company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The partnership owns and operates a broad network of pipelines, processing facilities, storage assets and terminals that support the movement of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil and refined products across the United States.

The company’s operations include gathering and processing natural gas, transporting and storing natural gas and NGLs, fractionating NGLs into component products, and transporting crude oil and refined products.

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