Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 1.3% Higher - What's Next?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) rose 1.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $20.32 and last traded at $20.19. Approximately 4,596,221 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 13,178,051 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ET. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $69.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 0.57 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 $18.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.16.

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

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 6.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 94.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 6,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,009 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 195,565 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,960,000 after purchasing an additional 20,856 shares in the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,039 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 1,983 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 47,607 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 2,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in Energy Transfer by 189.4% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 105,700 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,071,000 after acquiring an additional 69,179 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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