Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 1.8% - Time to Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $16.39 and last traded at $16.73. 5,893,264 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 17,105,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.09.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.32. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $17.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.50.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.3275 dividend. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.88%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is presently 102.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ET. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12,090.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,455,613 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $244,005,000 after buying an additional 12,353,441 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 75,353,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,400,831,000 after acquiring an additional 8,613,645 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $756,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254,721 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at $79,113,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at $50,166,000. 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.