Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 0.6%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price traded down 0.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $16.08 and last traded at $16.08. 2,570,820 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 13,295,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.14.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $54.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.01 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.95%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 117.43%.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Berkley W R Corp lifted its position 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 valued at $83,912,000 after acquiring an additional 555,445 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 56,366 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 491.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 549,971 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,651,000 after acquiring an additional 15,097 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.