Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 0.9%

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) was down 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $14.97 and last traded at $15.10. Approximately 22,004,915 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 112% from the average daily volume of 10,364,834 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $51.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.12 and a 200 day moving average of $14.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.28%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 109,332.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 145,943,387 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,732,348,000 after purchasing an additional 145,810,023 shares during the period. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at about $322,097,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 81,532,518 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,125,149,000 after purchasing an additional 18,087,249 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 76,339,168 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $906,146,000 after purchasing an additional 13,220,435 shares during the period. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 14.5% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,033,541,000 after purchasing an additional 9,341,798 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.