Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

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

Energy Transfer News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Energy Transfer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Energy Transfer agreed to acquire Vaquero Midstream for approximately $2.625 billion, expanding its midstream operations through a bolt-on transaction. Management and bullish commentators view the deal as strategic and potentially accretive, which could support future earnings and cash-flow growth. Consideration includes $1.95 billion in cash and approximately 33.3 million newly issued ET common units. Energy Transfer to Acquire Vaquero Midstream in a $2.625 Billion Transaction
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $26 price target, citing expected volume growth, strong downstream capacity utilization, ET’s approximately 90% fee-based business mix and limited commodity-price exposure. The forecast calls for mid-single-digit revenue growth and margin expansion in fiscal 2027, potentially exceeding conservative consensus expectations. Energy Transfer: Buy The Dip, Proprietary Forecast Sees Strong Volume Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent investor commentary remains favorable toward ET’s distribution yield, diversified assets, rising volumes and prospects for a larger distribution increase. However, these are opinion-based articles rather than new company guidance. Energy Transfer: Guidance Keeps Rising, And A Bigger Distribution Hike Is Likely Coming
• Negative Sentiment: The Vaquero purchase requires substantial cash and the issuance of 33.3 million new units, creating near-term capital-allocation and dilution concerns. Investors may also scrutinize the impact on leverage and whether the acquisition generates sufficient incremental cash flow to justify its cost. Energy Transfer to buy Vaquero Midstream for $2.63 billion in cash and stock

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ET shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up from $23.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.36.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.3%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.89 and a 200-day moving average of $19.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $70.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.3375. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 647,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.26 per share, with a total value of $13,775,799.68. Following the acquisition, the director directly 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James Perry acquired 12,359 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 208,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,208,770.58. This represents a 6.32% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 1,012,359 shares of company stock worth $21,513,543 over the last ninety days. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.