Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) fell 1.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $18.16 and last traded at $18.13. 4,787,445 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 16,893,980 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.55.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.08. The company has a market capitalization of $59.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.72.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.325 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.44%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 101.56%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. FMR LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $756,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254,721 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $469,920,000 after buying an additional 1,723,683 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $387,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,381 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,331,220 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $319,929,000 after acquiring an additional 2,512,060 shares during the period. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $308,319,000 after acquiring an additional 388,073 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.