Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Down 1.1% – Time to Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares were down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $20.77 and last traded at $20.90. Approximately 7,419,603 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 12,660,640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.36.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a market cap of $70.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.21. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 78.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director James Perry bought 12,359 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.23 per share, for a total transaction of $250,022.57. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 208,046 shares in the company, valued at $4,208,770.58. The trade was a 6.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 647,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.26 per share, with a total value of $13,775,799.68. Following the purchase, the director owned 147,901,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,144,393,947.54. This represents a 0.44% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired 1,012,359 shares of company stock worth $21,513,543 in the last 90 days. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE: ET) is a diversified midstream energy partnership that owns and operates infrastructure used to transport, store, process and market energy commodities. Its assets support the movement of natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), refined products and other hydrocarbon-based materials.

The company’s operations include natural gas gathering and processing, interstate and intrastate pipeline transportation, NGL fractionation and storage, crude oil and refined products transportation, and terminal services.