Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Down 0.7%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $15.71 and last traded at $15.71. 4,035,023 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 12,243,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ET. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.57.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.6 %

The company's 50-day moving average is $14.98 and its 200-day moving average is $14.16. The firm has a market cap of $53.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.46 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is currently 115.60%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 109,332.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 145,943,387 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,732,348,000 after purchasing an additional 145,810,023 shares during the last quarter. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at about $322,097,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 81,532,518 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,125,149,000 after acquiring an additional 18,087,249 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 76,339,168 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $906,146,000 after acquiring an additional 13,220,435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,033,541,000 after acquiring an additional 9,341,798 shares during the last quarter. 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.