Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 2% – Should You Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price fell 2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $16.87 and last traded at $17.07. 6,669,771 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 13,182,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ET. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $59.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.66.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 5.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.44%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 94.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 591,211 shares in the company, valued at $9,270,188.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,686,992. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ET. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 12.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $594,769,000 after purchasing an additional 4,141,715 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% during 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 period. Natixis lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 20.0% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $283,463,000 after buying an additional 2,999,300 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel Investment Group purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth $20,164,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $21,489,000 after buying an additional 1,269,778 shares during the period. 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.