Scotiabank Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price

Key Points

• Scotiabank cut its price target on Energy Transfer from $23 to $21 while maintaining a "sector outperform" rating, with that target implying roughly a 26.5% upside from the recent close.
• Energy Transfer reported an earnings miss (Q: $0.28 EPS vs. $0.34 expected; revenue $19.95B vs. $21.84B expected) and its shares traded around $16.60, inside a 52‑week range of $14.60–$21.45.
• Insider Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1.35M shares at $17.36, boosting his stake, while institutions own about 38.2% of the stock and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target near $22.08 (13 Buys, 2 Holds).

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Scotiabank from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "sector outperform" rating on the pipeline company's stock. Scotiabank's price objective points to a potential upside of 26.54% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.08.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE ET traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $16.60. 5,743,333 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,902,395. Energy Transfer has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.40. The firm has a market cap of $56.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.84 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.08%. Energy Transfer's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,350,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 69,178,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,200,938,360.72. This represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed 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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Energy Transfer by 4.5% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 77,651,021 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,332,492,000 after acquiring an additional 3,366,734 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 38,205,495 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $710,240,000 after purchasing an additional 951,656 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 24,170,455 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $449,329,000 after buying an additional 182,705 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 12.0% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 23,120,066 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $429,802,000 after buying an additional 2,471,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 9.3% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,353,476 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $387,139,000 after buying an additional 1,825,391 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is currently 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.

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