Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 1.7% – Should You Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price fell 1.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $16.48 and last traded at $16.6250. 20,465,174 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 37% from the average session volume of 14,958,206 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price objective on Energy Transfer and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated 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. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.08.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 1.7%

The company has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.93 and a 200 day moving average of $17.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict 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. Shareholders 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 an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 106.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ET. Campbell Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 13.8% in the third quarter. Campbell Capital Management Inc. now owns 74,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Energy Transfer by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 206,959 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 29,145 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 1.0% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 517,061 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,873,000 after purchasing an additional 4,943 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 202.6% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 399,188 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,850,000 after purchasing an additional 267,264 shares during the period. Finally, Second Line Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.0% during the third quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 30,962 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 4,725 shares during the last quarter. 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.