Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 0.6%

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) traded down 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $16.00 and last traded at $16.02. 1,625,245 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 13,476,032 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $53.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.85%. The business had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.05%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 117.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Energy Transfer news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 591,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,270,188.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 3,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 3,040,000 shares of company stock worth $47,667,200 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ET. Berkley W R Corp boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Berkley W R Corp now owns 5,334,494 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $83,912,000 after acquiring an additional 555,445 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 56,366 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 95.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 145,894 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,013,000 after purchasing an additional 71,386 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 491.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,290,364 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $20,297,000 after buying an additional 1,072,144 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.