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

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) dropped 1.4% during trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $21.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Energy Transfer traded as low as $16.25 and last traded at $16.2670. Approximately 17,257,899 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 15% from the average daily volume of 15,007,681 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.49.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 104,577,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,593,760.85. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. CNB Bank grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 111.1% during the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $55.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $16.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 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 firm had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.3325 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.