Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Shares Down 0.7% - Time to Sell?

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 0.7% on Monday . The company traded as low as $19.27 and last traded at $19.29. 4,996,424 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 12,523,216 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ET. Barclays lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

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 business's 50 day moving average price is $18.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.70.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The business had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.63%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ET. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 65.0% in the third quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 2,138.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 2,357 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.