Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Buys 44,961 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Key Points

• Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer LP by 40.4%, acquiring 156,387 shares valued at approximately $2.91 million.
• Several institutional investors showed a significant interest in Energy Transfer, with Brighton Jones LLC and others significantly increasing their stakes during the fourth quarter.
• Energy Transfer recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, representing a 7.4% dividend yield and indicating a high payout ratio of 99.24%.

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 40.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,387 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,961 shares during the quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $2,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 11,844 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,090 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 16,728 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 308,587 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,866,000 after purchasing an additional 66,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 314,352 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $6,158,000 after buying an additional 24,978 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE:ET traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.28. 15,395,290 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,662,155. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $14.60 and a 1-year high of $21.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.40, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.16.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.07% and a net margin of 5.80%. The business had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Energy Transfer's revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.33%.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total transaction of $25,299.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.58.

Energy Transfer 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.