Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Down 0.8% - Should You Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) shares were down 0.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $20.70 and last traded at $20.90. Approximately 3,391,917 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 17,367,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ET. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.2 %

The business's fifty day moving average price is $19.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $70.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.69.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The firm had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. The business's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.27%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is 94.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $535,738,000 after buying an additional 10,195,768 shares in the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 15,738,594 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $308,319,000 after purchasing an additional 388,073 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.8% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 13,139,924 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $210,896,000 after purchasing an additional 352,625 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $153,787,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,973 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.