Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Up 0.4% - Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $18.82 and last traded at $18.81. 1,631,148 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 14,526,048 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $55.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.43.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. Research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.07%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.56%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at $1,297,000. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 7,586,598 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $148,621,000 after buying an additional 293,088 shares during the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 164.1% during the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,566 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,186,000 after buying an additional 37,633 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 435.5% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 68,724 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,346,000 after buying an additional 55,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FFG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 1,650,574 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $32,335,000 after buying an additional 13,948 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.