Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Down 2.6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Energy Transfer shares fell 2.6% to about $20.14 in mid-day trading, despite the stock trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company reported strong second-quarter results, including $0.59 in EPS versus the $0.38 consensus estimate and revenue growth of 78.4% year over year. It declared a quarterly distribution of $0.34 per unit, equivalent to a roughly 6.8% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $23.67 price target. Growth prospects include rising NGL exports and infrastructure utilization, though weakness in natural-gas prices remains a potential risk.

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 2.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $20.11 and last traded at $20.1360. 11,075,029 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 13,574,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.67.

Key Headlines Impacting Energy Transfer

Here are the key news stories impacting Energy Transfer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong second-quarter results and higher distribution: Energy Transfer reported second-quarter 2026 sales of $34.33 billion and net income of $2.09 billion, while earnings per unit exceeded expectations. The partnership also raised its quarterly cash distribution to $0.34 per common unit, reinforcing its income appeal. Did Strong Q2 Results and a Higher Payout Just Shift Energy Transfer's Investment Narrative?
• Positive Sentiment: Growth outlook remains constructive: Analysts point to rising NGL exports, high pipeline and fractionator utilization, multi-year export commitments, and an accelerated capital-spending program as drivers of future EBITDA and distribution growth. Management continues to target roughly 3%–5% annual distribution growth while maintaining leverage near 4.0–4.5 times EBITDA. Energy Transfer Is Now Finally Firing on All Growth Cylinders
• Positive Sentiment: Value and income appeal: Zacks identified ET as a highly ranked value stock, while other coverage emphasized its approximately 6.6% distribution yield and improving profits. The combination of valuation support, cash income, and recent earnings beats could attract yield-focused investors. Energy Transfer Is a Top-Ranked Value Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Natural-gas market weakness: Natural-gas futures fell after a larger-than-expected storage build. Lower commodity prices can weigh on sentiment toward energy companies, although Energy Transfer’s fee-based pipeline, storage, and NGL businesses help reduce its direct exposure to gas-price volatility. Nat-Gas Prices Tumble on a Larger-Than-Expected Storage Build

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.67.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $69.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $19.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.20.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.21. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The company had revenue of $34.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 78.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.44 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,017,925 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $76,823,000 after purchasing an additional 16,926 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,676 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 2,256 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,277 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at $438,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer NYSE: ET is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company's operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.

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