Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 1.1% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Energy Transfer shares fell 1.1% to $16.215 on Thursday with volume of ~16.1M shares (about 8% above average); the company has a market cap of ~$55.7B and a P/E of ~13.
• Analysts hold a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $21.62, though individual targets range from $17 to $25 and Morgan Stanley recently cut its target to $19.
• The firm missed quarterly estimates (EPS $0.28 vs. $0.34, revenue $19.95B vs. $21.84B), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.3325 (annualized $1.33, ~8.2% yield) despite a 106% payout ratio, and director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,000,000 shares at about $16.95.

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 1.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $16.19 and last traded at $16.2150. 16,125,409 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 14,895,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price target on Energy Transfer and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Energy Transfer to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.62.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.1%

The firm has a market cap of $55.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.68 and a 200-day moving average of $17.26.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.66% and a return on equity of 10.71%. The company had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.3325 per share. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.2%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is currently 106.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 104,577,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,593,760.85. The trade was a 0.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ET. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter worth about $264,309,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $168,917,000. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.5% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 77,651,021 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,332,492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,366,734 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,471,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northside Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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