Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Down 2.3% – Time to Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price fell 2.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $18.63 and last traded at $18.95. 9,789,405 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 16,560,041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ET. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.55.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.97. 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 stock has a market cap of $65.69 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.79%. 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. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 101.56%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 15.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 346,825 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,567,000 after acquiring an additional 45,172 shares during the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,297,000. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 7,586,598 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $148,621,000 after acquiring an additional 293,088 shares in the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 164.1% during the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,566 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 37,633 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 30.9% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 242,042 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,885,000 after purchasing an additional 57,184 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.