Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $20.00 to $26.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ET. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

NYSE ET opened at $18.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.33. Energy Transfer has a 12-month low of $14.90 and a 12-month high of $21.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. Research analysts expect that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.89%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Energy Transfer by 57.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 21,671 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 7,870 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 242,531 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,893,000 after buying an additional 54,611 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 111.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 67,401 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 35,595 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 19.7% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 24,213 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $535,738,000 after acquiring an additional 10,195,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.