Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 0.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) rose 0.1% during trading on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $20.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $18.65 and last traded at $18.22. Approximately 4,145,066 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 13,688,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.20.

ET has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America started coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.40.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. &PARTNERS increased its position in Energy Transfer by 215.9% during the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 32,011 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 21,879 shares during the period. Avalon Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Avalon Capital Management now owns 77,121 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the second quarter worth $499,000. TrueWealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at $171,000. Finally, Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,588 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $62.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.60.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. The business had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors 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 7.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.