Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.32 Per Share

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.317 per share by the pipeline company on Monday, May 20th. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32.

Energy Transfer has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.0% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Energy Transfer has a dividend payout ratio of 74.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Energy Transfer to earn $1.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 79.7%.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE ET traded down $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $15.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,609,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,295,503. The company has a market capitalization of $53.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.64. Energy Transfer has a 12-month low of $12.18 and a 12-month high of $16.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $15.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.46 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. One 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.00.

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.