Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 2% - Should You Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $16.87 and last traded at $17.07. 6,669,771 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 13,182,883 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $59.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.66. The stock's 50 day moving average is $16.25 and its 200-day moving average is $16.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The business had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.44%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,934,686,992. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 3,040,000 shares of company stock worth $47,667,200. Insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 65.0% during the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 43.6% in the third quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.