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

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.74% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ET. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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, Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price target on Energy Transfer and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.62.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Energy Transfer stock opened at $16.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.35. Energy Transfer has a 12 month low of $14.60 and a 12 month high of $21.45. The company has a market cap of $57.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 104,577,803 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,593,760.85. This trade represents a 0.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. CNB Bank lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 111.1% during the second quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

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.