Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Takes Position in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new position in Energy Transfer LP, purchasing 224,620 shares valued at approximately $4.07 million during the second quarter.
• Director Kelcy L. Warren significantly increased his stake by acquiring 1.35 million shares, bringing his total ownership to about 69.18 million shares valued at over $1.2 billion.
• Several analysts have issued positive ratings for Energy Transfer, with a consensus average target price around $22.50, indicating strong investor interest as 14 analysts rated it as a Buy.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. bought a new position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 224,620 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $4,072,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Energy Transfer by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 186,126 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,374,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 110,838 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,009,000 after purchasing an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2.8% during the second quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 57,686 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,046,000 after buying an additional 1,563 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the second quarter valued at $930,000. Finally, USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer by 14.8% during the second quarter. USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,500 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,350,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $23,436,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ET shares. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cowen began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.50.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE ET opened at $16.83 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $57.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.78. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. The business had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.07 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is currently 102.33%.

Energy Transfer Company 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.

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