Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 0.2% – What’s Next?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s stock price traded down 0.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $17.87 and last traded at $17.93. 2,057,619 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 15,485,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 0.1%

The stock has a market cap of $61.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $17.48 and a 200 day moving average of $18.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 5.74%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.3275 dividend. This represents a $1.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 99.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 12.9% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 75,353,994 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,400,831,000 after buying an additional 8,613,645 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $756,840,000 after acquiring an additional 5,254,721 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.6% in the first quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 38,205,495 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $710,240,000 after acquiring an additional 951,656 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 0.8% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 24,170,455 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $449,329,000 after acquiring an additional 182,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 12.0% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 23,120,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $429,802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,471,401 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.