Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Down 0.1% – Here’s Why

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price fell 0.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $19.10 and last traded at $19.24. 1,999,282 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 13,669,208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America assumed 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.55.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $66.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.78.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.3225 per share. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $535,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $594,769,000 after buying an additional 4,141,715 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $67,020,000 after buying an additional 3,913,266 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $185,594,000 after buying an additional 3,106,631 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $153,787,000 after buying an additional 3,013,973 shares in the last quarter. 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.