Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 1.4% – Here’s What Happened

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price fell 1.4% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $19.28 and last traded at $19.33. 1,928,797 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 13,678,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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 upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.55.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.09 and a 200-day moving average of $16.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released 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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given 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 (DPR) is currently 94.85%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.