Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares fell 1.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $20.41 and last traded at $20.56. 3,896,033 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 17,141,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ET. Bank of America began coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.64. The company has a market capitalization of $68.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The business had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 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, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 94.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ET. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.