Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) fell 1.3% on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $20.15 and last traded at $20.48. 10,057,102 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average daily volume of 12,490,107 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ET. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Energy Transfer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.36.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $70.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $34.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.71 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.55%. Energy Transfer’s revenue was up 78.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3375. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 92.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 647,968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.26 per share, with a total value of $13,775,799.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 147,901,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,144,393,947.54. This trade represents a 0.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Perry acquired 12,359 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.23 per share, for a total transaction of $250,022.57. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 208,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,208,770.58. This represents a 6.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 1,012,359 shares of company stock worth $21,513,543 in the last ninety days. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osbon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer LP is a diversified energy infrastructure company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The partnership owns and operates a broad network of pipelines, processing facilities, storage assets and terminals that support the movement of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil and refined products across the United States.

The company’s operations include gathering and processing natural gas, transporting and storing natural gas and NGLs, fractionating NGLs into component products, and transporting crude oil and refined products.