Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Trading Down 2.5% After Earnings Miss

Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) were down 2.5% during trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $19.77 and last traded at $19.8750. Approximately 16,033,813 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 16,615,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.39.

The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $27.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.58 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The company’s revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.3375 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.35 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 110.74%.

Key Stories Impacting Energy Transfer

Here are the key news stories impacting Energy Transfer this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raised 2026 guidance, higher distribution and record volumes support upside — Energy Transfer increased its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $18.20–$18.60B, raised the common-unit distribution to $0.3375 and reported record operating volumes, which underpins the company’s cash-flow outlook and payout. ET up after guidance raise
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness — Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target on ET from $23 to $25 and initiated/maintained a “buy” view, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Stifel price-target lift
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity points to short-term bullish bets — investors bought ~102,786 call options (about +93% vs. average), indicating speculative interest in upside momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage and commentary — multiple outlet write-ups and analyst notes (Fool, Zacks, Benzinga recaps) emphasize the strong volumes and higher guidance but debate valuation and sustainability; these pieces provide context but offer mixed buy/sell signals. Fool coverage
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss — GAAP diluted EPS of $0.35 missed the consensus of $0.40, a headline that pressured sentiment despite the revenue beat and raised guidance. MarketBeat earnings recap
• Negative Sentiment: Sell-side/independent downgrade — Seeking Alpha published a downgrade piece that argues valuation and yield risk make the partnership less attractive today, adding to caution among some investors. Seeking Alpha downgrade

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.91.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 86,310,272 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,423,256,000 after buying an additional 25,366,594 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 83,843,087 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,382,573,000 after buying an additional 6,192,066 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 3.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 57,862,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $992,923,000 after buying an additional 1,773,042 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 38,675,828 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $637,764,000 after buying an additional 103,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Energy Income Partners LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1.4% during the third quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 23,351,183 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $400,706,000 after buying an additional 326,653 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.02 and a 200-day moving average of $17.78. The firm has a market cap of $68.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company’s operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.