Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Up 0.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) traded up 0.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $18.70 and last traded at $18.42. 3,022,171 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 17,882,793 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.55.

Energy Transfer Stock 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 stock has a market cap of $62.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.14.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.11%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 101.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ET. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.