Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Down 0.4%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price traded down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $15.86 and last traded at $15.88. 1,613,009 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 12,235,557 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.36 and a 200 day moving average of $14.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 4.85%. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.94%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ET. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $322,097,000. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,033,541,000 after acquiring an additional 9,341,798 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,621,485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $353,576,000 after acquiring an additional 7,097,074 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $350,845,000 after acquiring an additional 3,976,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,447.6% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,756,955 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $518,460,000 after acquiring an additional 3,514,195 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.