Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Price Target Raised to $20.00

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the pipeline company's stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ET. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Bank of America started coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.40.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Energy Transfer stock traded up $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $18.27. The company had a trading volume of 14,733,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,734,473. Energy Transfer has a twelve month low of $13.60 and a twelve month high of $20.02. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.72 and a 200-day moving average of $16.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. The company's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued 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 7.06%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ET. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $594,769,000 after purchasing an additional 4,141,715 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $535,738,000 after acquiring an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1.1% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,107,470 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $261,263,000 after purchasing an additional 171,720 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.1% during the third quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,350,521 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $246,376,000 after acquiring an additional 466,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 13,139,924 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $210,896,000 after purchasing an additional 352,625 shares during the last quarter. 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.