Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 0.7%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $15.87 and last traded at $15.88. 9,182,664 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 11,872,734 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $53.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.96.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The company had revenue of $21.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.96%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 56,366 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 2,326 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 146,943 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 77,938 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 95.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 145,894 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after purchasing an additional 71,386 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 230.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 736,634 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $10,335,000 after purchasing an additional 513,989 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.