Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Down 1.5% - Time to Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) shares dropped 1.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $17.68 and last traded at $17.70. Approximately 4,555,460 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 15,762,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ET has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Mizuho raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.58.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $17.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $59.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The firm had revenue of $21.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.3275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.50%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is currently 99.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Energy Transfer news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total transaction of $25,299.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $453,185.04. This represents a 5.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,540 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 135,647 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co raised its position in Energy Transfer by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 11,796 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Energy Transfer by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 39,934 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its position in Energy Transfer by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 46,382 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.