SCS Capital Management LLC Takes $1.98 Million Position in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• SCS Capital Management LLC has acquired 106,632 shares of Energy Transfer LP, valued at approximately $1,982,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Energy Transfer recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, reflecting a 7.7% annual yield, an increase from the previous quarter.
• Institutional investors now own 38.22% of Energy Transfer's stock, with strong investment increases from firms like Northern Trust Corp and Commerce Bank in the first quarter.

SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 106,632 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,982,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 93.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 11,844 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 389,075 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,622,000 after acquiring an additional 40,329 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 2,618,212 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $51,291,000 after acquiring an additional 700,000 shares in the last quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 854,579 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $16,741,000 after acquiring an additional 4,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,830,861 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $55,457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,585 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Energy Transfer news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total value of $25,299.12. Following the sale, the director owned 24,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $453,185.04. This trade represents a 5.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,350,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $23,436,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 69,178,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,200,938,360.72. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ET. Cowen initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.54.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.4%

Energy Transfer stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $17.49. 5,780,748 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,893,090. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.85. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $17.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.68.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The business had revenue of $19.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.07 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The firm's revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.33%.

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.