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

Key Points

• Energy Transfer shares fell about 1.4% after Morgan Stanley cut its price target from $21 to $19 (shares traded as low as $16.56 and last at $16.595 on ~14.4M shares).
• Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,000,000 shares at an average $16.95 on Nov. 19, boosting his stake to 104,577,803 shares (insiders own 3.28%).
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.3325 (annualized $1.33, ~8.0% yield) even after missing quarterly EPS estimates ($0.28 vs. $0.34) and carrying a payout ratio of 106.4%.

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) traded down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $21.00 to $19.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as low as $16.56 and last traded at $16.5950. 14,398,296 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 14,983,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.83.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ET. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price target on Energy Transfer and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.62.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.95 per share, for a total transaction of $16,950,000.00. Following the purchase, the director 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chelsea Counsel Co. boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 370.3% during the 2nd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 94,050 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 74,050 shares in the last quarter. Ariston Services Group raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 126.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ariston Services Group now owns 100,683 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 56,274 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the second quarter worth approximately $930,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 11.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 275,698 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,125,000 after purchasing an additional 29,404 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 223.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.4%

The stock has a market cap of $56.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.65. The business's 50 day moving average is $16.79 and its 200-day moving average is $17.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.15.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.3325 dividend. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 106.40%.

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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