Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Down 0.5% – Time to Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) traded down 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $16.39 and last traded at $16.39. 2,531,701 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 12,957,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Energy Transfer Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.99. The company has a market cap of $56.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.66.

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

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.3225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.85%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 107.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain purchased 20,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 591,211 shares in the company, valued at $9,270,188.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 591,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,270,188.48. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200 over the last ninety days. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at about $384,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 495,391 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,793,000 after buying an additional 77,444 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 8.6% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,531 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 2,804 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 54.9% during the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 29,053 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 10,294 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.3% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 499,752 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $7,861,000 after acquiring an additional 20,786 shares in the last quarter. 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.