Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 2.3% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) rose 2.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $18.00 to $22.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as high as $18.77 and last traded at $18.69. Approximately 3,362,042 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 13,688,892 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.27.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.55.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FFG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.3% during the third quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 1,636,626 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $26,268,000 after purchasing an additional 52,302 shares during the period. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,207,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 6.8% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 15,675 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 69.8% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 84,530 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,357,000 after acquiring an additional 34,749 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 1.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 101,738 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 3.2 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.80 and a 200-day moving average of $16.63. The firm has a market cap of $64.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, 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.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.84%. 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.