Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Up 2.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shot up 2.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $18.71 and last traded at $18.70. 8,404,786 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 13,459,866 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 3.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $64.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.3225 per share. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 94.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In other news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 591,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,270,188.48. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Second Line Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.5% during the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 23,509 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.1% during the third quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 200,306 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,215,000 after buying an additional 11,455 shares in the last quarter. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.2% during the third quarter. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC now owns 30,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.3% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 291,231 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,674,000 after buying an additional 17,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 4.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 126,331 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 5,127 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.