Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.82.

A number of research firms recently commented on ET. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Veracity Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 34,898 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 25,970 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 11,842 shares during the period. Madrona Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at $251,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 68,428 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,341,000 after buying an additional 7,560 shares during the period. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 6,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ET traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.28. 14,533,663 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,469,590. Energy Transfer has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $20.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $69.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.19.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.3225 per share. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is 94.85%.

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.