Out of 20 analysts, the vast majority are giving Energy Transfer LP (NASDAQ: ET) a STRONG BUY rating with only 1 or 2 analysts offering either a HOLD or OVERWEIGHT rating. This has remained consistent over the better part of the past year.
Energy Transfer's average price target is $15.44 with a median rating of $15.00 and a range of $14 to $20. The current share price, this week, is approximately $9.80. This is an increase of less than 2 percent from the last official price. This is just about the median value for the stock's 52-week range (which is $7.96 to $12.48).
Energy Transfer's Most Recent Financials
Energy Transfer (ET) has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.06, against the industry average Forward P/E ratio of 11.53. Now, it is true that Energy Transfer's Forward P/E had, at one point, peaked at 11.51 and dipped as low as 4.74, but a median value of 7.28 for most of last year was not a bad place to sit.
Analyst forecast give it a Strong Buy rating at an average price target of $15.63. It appears the industry sector agrees with the Bullish rating, even though this would be the highest price the stock will have ever reached.
Day Range for Energy Transfer's stock is only a few cents, occasionally increasing to as wide as between $14 and $15. At one point this week the day range was only $9.37 to $9.68. The 52-week range, however, shows a broader stroke, with slightly better gains: $7.96 to $12.48.
It might also be wise to note Energy Transfer's P/B ratio, which is 1.08. Since the P/B ratio is the market value of the stock compared to its book value (total assets minus liabilities), 1.08 is quite remarkable. This is especially true when you consider the industry average P/B ratio is 1.89 and that ET's P/B range last year was 0.74 to 1.10 (with a median of 0.9).
Steady Decline the Past Month Could Mean A Turnaround is Coming
Over the course of the past 30-days, it is crucial to recognize that Energy Transfer stock has had trouble recovering from a steady decline since its June 7 peak at $12.31. While the movement has been largely up and down the past two weeks, it appears that analysts believe the stock is ready for a rebound.
In terms of Earnings Per Share, Energy Transfer has been gaining ground since the middle of last year. For Q2 and Q3 of 2021, for example, actual EPS did not meet the analyst consensus, never performing better than $0.25 percent below consensus. In Q2 of 2021, for example, analyst consensus was $0.26 but actual Earnings Per Share came in at $0.20. The third quarter resulted in similar movement, with analyst consensus coming in at $0.27 but actual EPS holding steady at $0.20, falling short again.
EPS Starts to Overtake Consensus Late Last Year
Fourth quarter of 2021, however, things started to change for Energy Transfer. While analyst consensus remained consistent at $0.27, carrying over from the previous quarter, actual EPS beat the consensus, coming in at $0.29. Q1 of 2022 fared even better with the actual EPS of $0.37 easily beating the analyst consensus of $0.30.
More importantly, perhaps, it seems analysts believe EPS will continue to increase. For Q2 and Q3 2022, analyst EPS consensus is expected to be $0.34 and $0.35, respectively. The next report is expected on August 4, 2022.
The final key metric to watch, here, is Energy Transfer's P/CF ratio, which is 5.36. These numbers bring out specifics regarding operation cash flow. They can be useful when trying to determine if a firm is undervalued when analyzing their outward cash outlook. Since the industry's average P/CF ratio is up to 8.79, ET's annual median of 3.29 (with a range of 2.53 to 5.39) looks very good.
Who is Energy Transfer
Based in Texas, Energy Transfer was founded in 1996 as a small intrastate natural gas pipeline operator to grow and become one of the biggest and most diversified investment grade master limited partnerships in the US. This company owns and operates one of the most diversified energy asset portfolios in the US, with a strategic footprint in all major domestic production basins. Effectively, Energy Transfer is daily committed to expanding this existing footprint in order to more efficiently transport petroleum products and to provide necessary infrastructure and optionality to customers across the United States.
