Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Down 1%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) shares were down 1% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $15.60 and last traded at $15.63. Approximately 2,901,146 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 12,200,174 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.78.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on ET shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.57.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $51.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 1.64.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.08. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company had revenue of $20.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.17%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 109,332.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 145,943,387 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,732,348,000 after purchasing an additional 145,810,023 shares during the last quarter. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at $322,097,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 81,532,518 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,125,149,000 after acquiring an additional 18,087,249 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 76,339,168 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $906,146,000 after acquiring an additional 13,220,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 14.5% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,033,541,000 after acquiring an additional 9,341,798 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.