Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading 0.2% Higher – What’s Next?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price was up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $16.44 and last traded at $16.42. Approximately 2,241,739 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 12,975,729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $20.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.01 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.3225 dividend. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 107.56%.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at $67,562,909.12. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,562,909.12. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.7% during the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $594,769,000 after purchasing an additional 4,141,715 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $67,020,000 after acquiring an additional 3,913,266 shares in the last quarter. Natixis increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 20.0% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $283,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,999,300 shares during the last quarter. Payden & Rygel Investment Group purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the first quarter valued at about $20,164,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $21,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,778 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

About Energy Transfer

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.