Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) fell 0.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $20.13 and last traded at $20.20. 2,922,559 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 13,965,292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $69.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.70. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $19.02 and a 200 day moving average of $17.19.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.36%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $535,738,000 after acquiring an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $67,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,913,266 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,787,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,973 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $21,489,000 after buying an additional 1,269,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.