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

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) dropped 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $19.36 and last traded at $19.45. Approximately 2,556,475 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 12,665,301 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. 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 research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.55.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $66.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share 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 net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.64%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 94.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% during the third 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 during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.