This week I'm seeking a prestigious and long-term dividend-paying stock from the energy sector. 

That sector includes six industries all related to bringing oil and gas to market. They are: drilling, exploration and production (E&P), equipment and services, integrated, midstream, refining & marketing.(Those oily and gassy enterprises.)

Today I'm reviewing another large-cap oil and gas midstream firm. This one is named Energy Transfer Partners LP. Its trading ticker symbol is ETP. 

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. is in the natural gas midstream, and intrastate oil and gas transportation and storage businesses in the United States. 

The company's Intrastate Transportation and Storage segment transports natural gas from producing areas through connections with other pipeline systems, as well as through its ET Fuel System and HPL System. It owns and operates approximately 7,900 miles of natural gas transportation pipelines and three natural gas storage facilities in Texas. 

ETP's Interstate Transportation and Storage segment provides natural gas transportation and storage services; owns and operates approximately 11,800 miles of interstate natural gas pipelines; and has interests in various natural gas pipelines. 

The company's Midstream segment gathers, compresses, treats, blends, processes, and markets natural gas. It owns and operates natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) gathering pipelines, natural gas processing plants, natural gas treating facilities, and natural gas conditioning facilities. 

The company's NGL and Refined Products Transportation and Services segment transports mixed NGLs and other hydrocarbons; stores mixed NGLs, NGL products, and petrochemical products; and separates mixed NGL streams into purity products. 

Its Crude Oil Transportation and Services segment engages in the transportation, terminalling, and acquisition and marketing of crude oil; and operates crude oil trunk and gathering pipelines. 

The company's All Other segment engages in the natural gas compression equipment business; manages coal and natural resources property; sells standing timber; and generates electrical power. 

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. was founded in 1995 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

I use three key data points to gauge the value of any dividend equity or fund like Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP): 

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

Besides those three, four more keys will finally unlock an equity or fund in which to invest.

But those first three primary keys, best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money. 

ETP Price

ETP's price per share was $22.35 at yesterday's market close. A year ago its price was $18.52 for a price gain of $3.83 per share.  

Assuming ETP's price will trade in the range of $15 to $30 next year, Energy Transfer's current $22.35 price could repeat last year's $3.83 gain and grow to $26.18 by early-October, 2019. 

ETP Dividends

Energy Transfer Partners LP's most recent quarterly dividend was $0.565 declared July 26th and paid August 14th. That recent dividend was increased from $0.55 in November, 2017.  

At this most recent $0.565 quarterly rate, ETP's annual dividend equates to $2.26 yielding 10.1% at yesterday's closing $22.35 price.

Gains For ETP?

Adding the $2.26 estimated annual dividend to my estimated $3.83 annual price upside for ETP makes a $6.09 potential gross annual per share gain, which will be reduced by the costs to trade the shares.  

 A little over $1,000.00 invested today at the $22.35 recent price buys 45 Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) shares. 

A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale costs $0.22 per share, subtracting that $0.22 brokerage cost from the estimated $6.09 gross annual gain leaves a net gain of $5.87 X 45 shares = $264.15 or a 26.3% net gain on a $1,005.75 investment.

Therefore, Energy Transfer Partners LP., whose trading ticker symbol is ETP, now shows a possible 26.3% net gain including a 10.1% dividend yield. 

Fifteen brokers cover this stock:

Eight says ETP is a stock to "buy".

Five say ETP will "outperform" its peers.

TWO say SEP is a stock to "hold".

Thus, the consensus analyst recommendation number is 1.6 or "outperform".

The median price target set by those fifteen brokers is$1.20 over the $26.18 price target I suggested for ETP. 

So, you could look at all these speculative numbers this way, Energy Transfer Partners LP., whose trading ticker symbol is ETP, has made money, is making money, and could net a 26% to 30% net annual gain including a 10.1% dividend yield. It could be more, it could be less.

The above speculation is based on past year performance. Actual results remain to be seen. Those results will determine if Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) is worth your time and money.