Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Price Down 0.8% - Here's Why

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 0.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $18.86 and last traded at $18.89. 2,785,968 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 13,618,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $20.38.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $64.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.70.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. The business had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.90% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.3225 dividend. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is 94.85%.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $535,738,000 after buying an additional 10,195,768 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 12.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $594,769,000 after purchasing an additional 4,141,715 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $67,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,913,266 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 45.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $153,787,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,973 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.