Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. Acquires 138,994 Shares of Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its Energy Transfer stake by 23% in the first quarter, buying 138,994 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 742,278 shares worth about $14.3 million.
• Energy Transfer reported mixed quarterly results: earnings of $0.35 per share missed estimates, but revenue of $27.77 billion topped expectations and rose 32.1% year over year.
• The company also raised its dividend, paying a quarterly distribution of $0.3375 per share for a 6.6% yield, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $23.50.

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 23.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 742,278 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 138,994 shares during the quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.'s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $14,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ET. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Energy Transfer by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $20.41 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.94. The stock has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.55. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $16.18 and a 52-week high of $20.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $27.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.78 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 9.77% and a net margin of 4.66%.Energy Transfer's revenue for the quarter was up 32.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.43 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.3375 per share. This represents a $1.35 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Energy Transfer from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.50.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer NYSE: ET is a Dallas-based midstream energy company that develops and operates infrastructure for the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. The company's operations focus on moving and storing natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined products through an integrated network of pipelines, terminals, storage facilities and processing plants. Energy Transfer provides core midstream services such as gathering, compression, fractionation, processing, and bulk transportation to support production and downstream supply chains.

Its asset base spans an extensive network across the United States, connecting producing regions, processing centers, petrochemical hubs and coastal and inland markets.

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