Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Price Target Lowered to $19.00 at Morgan Stanley

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.62.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

ET opened at $16.60 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.36. Energy Transfer has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $21.45. The company has a market capitalization of $56.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 5.66%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Energy Transfer will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.3325 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.40%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 39,845 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.1% during the first quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 11,796 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 39,934 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $742,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 32,788 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 9,195 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.