Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 7.6% – What’s Next?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price traded down 7.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $15.63 and last traded at $16.39. 22,535,972 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 53% from the average session volume of 14,695,584 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $55.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $19.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.44.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 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, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.325 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, United Community Bank purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.