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

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price fell 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $20.77 and last traded at $20.90. 7,419,603 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 12,660,640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.14.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ET shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Energy Transfer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, August 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.17.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.83.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.21. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 4.87%.The firm had revenue of $34.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up 78.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 92.52%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James Perry acquired 12,359 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.23 per share, with a total value of $250,022.57. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 208,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,208,770.58. This represents a 6.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy Warren bought 647,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.26 per share, for a total transaction of $13,775,799.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 147,901,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,144,393,947.54. This trade represents a 0.44% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 1,012,359 shares of company stock valued at $21,513,543 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ET. Bullseye Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Talon Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 1.7% during the second quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC now owns 53,343 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after buying an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 78,368 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,491 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 56.7% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,611,509 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,812,000 after acquiring an additional 583,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.4% in the second quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. now owns 25,535 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE: ET) is a diversified midstream energy partnership that owns and operates infrastructure used to transport, store, process and market energy commodities. Its assets support the movement of natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), refined products and other hydrocarbon-based materials.

The company’s operations include natural gas gathering and processing, interstate and intrastate pipeline transportation, NGL fractionation and storage, crude oil and refined products transportation, and terminal services.