Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Director Purchases 1,000,000 Shares

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Director Kelcy Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.95 per share, for a total transaction of $16,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 104,577,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,593,760.85. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 1.7%

ET traded down $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $16.63. The company had a trading volume of 20,501,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,958,357. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.40. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $21.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The company had revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.3325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 106.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.08.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. CNB Bank increased its position in Energy Transfer by 111.1% during the second quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 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.