Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 1.4% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Shares fell 1.4% after JPMorgan cut its price target from $22.00 to $21.00, although the stock still carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target near $21.92.
• Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,000,000 shares at $16.95, increasing his stake to about 104.6 million shares and reflecting insider ownership of roughly 3.28%.
• Energy Transfer missed quarterly expectations (EPS $0.28 vs. $0.34 and revenue $19.95B vs. $21.84B) but raised its quarterly dividend to $0.3325, yielding ~8.2% despite a payout ratio above 100%.

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) fell 1.4% on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $21.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as low as $16.25 and last traded at $16.2670. 17,257,899 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the average session volume of 15,007,681 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.49.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ET. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.92.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 104,577,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,772,593,760.85. The trade was a 0.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ET. Chelsea Counsel Co. boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 370.3% during the second quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 94,050 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 74,050 shares during the period. Ariston Services Group raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 126.7% in the second quarter. Ariston Services Group now owns 100,683 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 56,274 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter worth $930,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 275,698 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,125,000 after buying an additional 29,404 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 223.5% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,069,534 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $19,883,000 after buying an additional 738,885 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $55.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.41.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The company had revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.3325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.2%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is 106.40%.

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.

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