Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Time to Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)’s share price fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $19.55 and last traded at $19.61. 3,495,931 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 16,999,039 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ET. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.18.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $68.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.69.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. As a group, research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.85%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ET. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, United Community Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.