Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Up 0.4%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares shot up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $15.87 and last traded at $15.74. 2,399,505 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 12,151,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ET. Citigroup raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group cut 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 four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.57.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $51.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 1.64. 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 price of $15.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.19.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company earned $0.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 79,889 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 3,501 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 424,932 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,755,000 after purchasing an additional 2,403 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 260,824 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,919,000 after purchasing an additional 31,407 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 159,249 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 10,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 43.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 192,394 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,153,000 after purchasing an additional 57,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.