Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 1% – Time to Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price was down 1% during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $20.41 and last traded at $20.41. 6,309,315 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 12,422,057 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ET shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Energy Transfer from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 target price (up from $23.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.36.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $70.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.21. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 4.87%.The firm had revenue of $34.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3375. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 92.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 647,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.26 per share, with a total value of $13,775,799.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 147,901,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,144,393,947.54. This trade represents a 0.44% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Perry bought 12,359 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.23 per share, with a total value of $250,022.57. Following the acquisition, the director owned 208,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,208,770.58. This represents a 6.32% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 1,012,359 shares of company stock valued at $21,513,543. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer LP is a diversified energy infrastructure company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The partnership owns and operates a broad network of pipelines, processing facilities, storage assets and terminals that support the movement of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil and refined products across the United States.

The company’s operations include gathering and processing natural gas, transporting and storing natural gas and NGLs, fractionating NGLs into component products, and transporting crude oil and refined products.