Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $16.68 and last traded at $16.66, with a volume of 230640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ET shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $59.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The business had revenue of $20.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.40%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 107.56%.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Thomas E. Long bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 3,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200 over the last three months. 3.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its holdings 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 worth $594,769,000 after purchasing an additional 4,141,715 shares during the last quarter. Natixis lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.0% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $283,463,000 after buying an additional 2,999,300 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,107,470 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $261,263,000 after buying an additional 171,720 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,350,521 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $246,376,000 after buying an additional 466,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 7,293,510 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $117,061,000 after acquiring an additional 536,047 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.