Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $21.77 and last traded at $21.6150, with a volume of 703342 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Energy Transfer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.08.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $74.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.57.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $34.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.71 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 4.87%.The firm’s revenue was up 78.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.52%.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director James Richard Perry acquired 12,359 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.23 per share, for a total transaction of $250,022.57. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 208,046 shares in the company, valued at $4,208,770.58. This represents a 6.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 647,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.26 per share, for a total transaction of $13,775,799.68. Following the purchase, the director owned 147,901,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,144,393,947.54. This trade represents a 0.44% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased 1,012,359 shares of company stock worth $21,513,543 in the last 90 days. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.