Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 0.6%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price fell 0.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $16.00 and last traded at $16.02. 1,625,245 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 13,476,032 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $53.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $20.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.01 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.06%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 117.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Long bought 20,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at $67,562,909.12. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 3,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 3,040,000 shares of company stock worth $47,667,200 over the last three months. 3.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Berkley W R Corp grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 11.6% in the first quarter. Berkley W R Corp now owns 5,334,494 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $83,912,000 after purchasing an additional 555,445 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 56,366 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 145,894 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 71,386 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 4,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 491.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,290,364 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $20,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072,144 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.