Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 1.7% – Here’s Why

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares shot up 1.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $21.50 and last traded at $21.38. Approximately 7,580,292 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 13,196,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.08.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.51.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $34.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.71 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business’s revenue was up 78.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 92.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 647,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.26 per share, for a total transaction of $13,775,799.68. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 147,901,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,144,393,947.54. This trade represents a 0.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James Richard Perry purchased 12,359 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.23 per share, for a total transaction of $250,022.57. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 208,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,208,770.58. This represents a 6.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,012,359 shares of company stock worth $21,513,543. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 86,310,272 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,423,256,000 after acquiring an additional 25,366,594 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 83,843,087 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,382,573,000 after acquiring an additional 6,192,066 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 57,862,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $992,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773,042 shares during the period. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 38,675,828 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $637,764,000 after acquiring an additional 103,245 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised 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 during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.