Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 1.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) were down 1.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $17.39 and last traded at $17.48. Approximately 6,421,872 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 17,257,564 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.55.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.0 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. Equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.35%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 101.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $756,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254,721 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $469,920,000 after buying an additional 1,723,683 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $387,416,000 after buying an additional 1,093,381 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,331,220 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $319,929,000 after buying an additional 2,512,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $308,319,000 after acquiring an additional 388,073 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.