Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Down 1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) fell 1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $21.15 and last traded at $21.1970. 12,552,901 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average daily volume of 13,352,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price (up from $23.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.08.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.37.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.21. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm had revenue of $34.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 78.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 92.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Energy Transfer news, Director James Richard Perry bought 12,359 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.23 per share, with a total value of $250,022.57. Following the acquisition, the director owned 208,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,208,770.58. This trade represents a 6.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 86,310,272 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,423,256,000 after acquiring an additional 25,366,594 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 83,843,087 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,382,573,000 after purchasing an additional 6,192,066 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the first quarter valued at about $61,760,000. SCS Capital Management LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 1,859.8% in the second quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC now owns 1,942,908 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $37,148,000 after buying an additional 1,843,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Energy Transfer by 3.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 57,862,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $992,923,000 after buying an additional 1,773,042 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.