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

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $19.51 and last traded at $19.52. 3,667,272 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 12,185,768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.55.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $66.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.64%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 94.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 32.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 94,442 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 23,079 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth about $419,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 28,942 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 172.8% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 54,722 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 34,664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 6.9% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,212,788 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $68,331,000 after buying an additional 271,435 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.