Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE:ETP) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.60.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ETP shares. Robert W. Baird set a $21.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer Partners and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 6th. ValuEngine raised shares of Energy Transfer Partners from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $25.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer Partners and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 11th.

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A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in Energy Transfer Partners by 14.2% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 22,588 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 2,816 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Energy Transfer Partners by 32.2% during the second quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,231 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 3,221 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer Partners by 3.8% during the first quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 101,029 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after buying an additional 3,708 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Energy Transfer Partners by 7.4% during the first quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 55,767 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $905,000 after buying an additional 3,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co. lifted its stake in Energy Transfer Partners by 72.6% during the first quarter. Smithfield Trust Co. now owns 9,350 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 3,934 shares in the last quarter. 62.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Partners traded up $2.97, reaching $24.18, on Friday, according to MarketBeat Ratings. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 41,542,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,704,910. Energy Transfer Partners has a twelve month low of $15.06 and a twelve month high of $24.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.69, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.15.

Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE:ETP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 9th. The pipeline company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.11). Energy Transfer Partners had a net margin of 8.24% and a return on equity of 7.22%. The business had revenue of $8.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 earnings per share. Energy Transfer Partners’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. research analysts predict that Energy Transfer Partners will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.565 per share. This represents a $2.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 3rd. Energy Transfer Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 313.89%.

Energy Transfer Partners Company Profile

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. engages in the natural gas midstream, and intrastate transportation and storage businesses in the United States. The company's Intrastate Transportation and Storage segment transports natural gas from various natural gas producing areas through connections with other pipeline systems, as well as through its ET Fuel System and HPL System.

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