Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Purchases New Holdings in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services acquired 74,490 Energy Transfer shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $1.25 million. Other funds also initiated or increased positions, with institutions and hedge funds owning 38.22% of the stock.
• Energy Transfer reported quarterly EPS of $0.59, beating the $0.38 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 78.4% year over year to $34.33 billion. Analysts maintain a broadly bullish view, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $24.17 target price.
• The company paid a quarterly distribution of $0.34 per unit, equivalent to a 6.3% annualized yield, while insiders purchased more than 1 million shares worth approximately $21.5 million over the past 90 days.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 74,490 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,253,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Energy Transfer by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $25 price target, implying approximately 15% upside from the recently reported trading level. The new bullish coverage may support investor confidence. Benzinga coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Rising energy prices have helped lift sentiment toward Energy Transfer, while expectations for expanding natural-gas-liquids exports and new gas-fired power demand reinforce the company’s growth outlook. What's next for the soaring Energy Transfer stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to highlight Energy Transfer’s multiyear project backlog, projected double-digit EBITDA growth and secure distribution yield. The company’s payout is reportedly covered roughly twice by cash flow, strengthening its appeal as an income investment, although higher capital spending could limit distribution growth to the lower end of management’s 3%–5% range. Energy Transfer growth outlook Energy Transfer payout coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy Transfer will move its common-unit listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Texas Stock Exchange, with trading expected to begin October 5 under the existing ET ticker. The move may increase visibility and align the partnership with its Texas roots, but it does not immediately change the company’s operations or cash flows. Energy Transfer Texas Stock Exchange listing
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment remains favorable overall, with Energy Transfer receiving an average “Moderate Buy” recommendation. Energy Transfer analyst recommendations

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 647,968 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.26 per share, for a total transaction of $13,775,799.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 147,901,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,144,393,947.54. This trade represents a 0.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James Perry acquired 12,359 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.23 per share, for a total transaction of $250,022.57. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 208,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,208,770.58. The trade was a 6.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 1,012,359 shares of company stock valued at $21,513,543 over the last ninety days. 3.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Energy Transfer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.17.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE:ET opened at $21.73 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $16.18 and a 12-month high of $21.84. The firm has a market cap of $74.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company's 50-day moving average is $20.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $34.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.71 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 78.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.52%.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer LP NYSE: ET is a diversified midstream energy partnership that owns and operates infrastructure used to transport, store, process and market energy commodities. Its assets support the movement of natural gas, crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), refined products and other hydrocarbon-based materials.

The company's operations include natural gas gathering and processing, interstate and intrastate pipeline transportation, NGL fractionation and storage, crude oil and refined products transportation, and terminal services.

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