Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 2.4% Higher Following Insider Buying Activity

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares traded up 2.4% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $20.63 and last traded at $20.62. 11,680,893 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 13,569,888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.13.

Specifically, Director James Richard Perry purchased 12,359 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.23 per share, with a total value of $250,022.57. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 208,046 shares in the company, valued at $4,208,770.58. The trade was a 6.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on ET shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Energy Transfer from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $23.92.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $71.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.26.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.21. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 4.87%.The company had revenue of $34.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 86,310,272 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,423,256,000 after purchasing an additional 25,366,594 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in Energy Transfer by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 83,843,087 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,382,573,000 after purchasing an additional 6,192,066 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,760,000. SCS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,859.8% in the second quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,942,908 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $37,148,000 after buying an additional 1,843,771 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 57,862,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $992,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773,042 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.