Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 1.1% – Should You Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) was down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $20.41 and last traded at $20.56. Approximately 3,896,033 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 17,141,037 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ET shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 1.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $70.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.69. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $19.69 and a 200-day moving average of $17.59.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.34%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 94.85%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ET. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $535,738,000 after buying an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,913,266 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% in 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 increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $21,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,778 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.