Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Energy Transfer from “strong buy” to “hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $23.92 price target.
• Energy Transfer reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $0.59 versus the $0.38 estimate and revenue of $34.33 billion, up 78.4% year over year.
• The stock opened at $20.93, near its 52-week high of $20.96, while company director James Richard Perry purchased approximately $250,000 in shares and institutional ownership stands at 38.22%.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ET. Weiss Ratings raised Energy Transfer from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.92.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET stock opened at $20.93 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $19.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.28. The company has a market capitalization of $72.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Energy Transfer has a 52-week low of $16.18 and a 52-week high of $20.96.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $34.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.71 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 78.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. Analysts predict that Energy Transfer will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James Richard Perry purchased 12,359 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.23 per share, for a total transaction of $250,022.57. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 208,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,208,770.58. The trade was a 6.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Texas Yale Capital Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 1,311,965 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $21,634,000 after buying an additional 75,700 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 100.1% in the 4th quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 161,523 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,664,000 after acquiring an additional 80,786 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 179.0% during the first quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 162,100 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,129,000 after acquiring an additional 104,000 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth approximately $61,760,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.8% in the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 1,888,661 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $36,451,000 after purchasing an additional 257,954 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer NYSE: ET is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company's operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.

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