Cornerstone Advisory LLC Acquires 69,533 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Key Points

• Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 215.8%, owning 101,756 shares worth $1.89 million as of the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors made significant acquisitions in Energy Transfer, with Bank of Montreal Can increasing its holdings by an extraordinary 12,090.8%, now owning over 12.4 million shares.
• Energy Transfer declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share with a yield of 7.45%, which is an increase from the previous amount while maintaining a payout ratio of 100%.

Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 215.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,756 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,533 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empirical Finance LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth about $4,470,000. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 185,760 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,453,000 after acquiring an additional 33,231 shares in the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 13,535 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares in the last quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth about $196,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 32.6% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 11,615 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,855 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ET. 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 research note on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Cowen began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.58.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE ET traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.99. 5,117,865 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,531,165. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $61.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.79. The company's fifty day moving average is $17.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.25. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 5.88%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.34%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

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.