Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on ET. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up from $23.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $23.75.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock opened at $20.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Energy Transfer has a twelve month low of $16.18 and a twelve month high of $20.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.24. The firm has a market cap of $71.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.55.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $34.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.71 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 4.87%.Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up 78.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.52%.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director James Richard Perry purchased 12,359 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.23 per share, for a total transaction of $250,022.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 208,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,208,770.58. This trade represents a 6.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 93.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 11,844 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 62.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,041 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 8,118 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 6.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 135,395 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,455,000 after acquiring an additional 7,901 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 436.5% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,179 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 50,919 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.