Cutler Capital Management LLC Sells 25,003 Shares of Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Cutler Capital Management LLC sold 25,003 shares of Energy Transfer LP, reducing its stake by 5.7% to a total of 416,471 shares, which now represents about 2.7% of its investment portfolio.
• Energy Transfer LP reported a quarterly revenue of $19.24 billion, which missed analysts' expectations of $24.07 billion, and earnings per share of $0.32, matching estimates.
• The company has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.33, resulting in a dividend yield of 7.6%, despite a high payout ratio of 102.33%.

Cutler Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 416,471 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 25,003 shares during the period. Energy Transfer comprises about 2.7% of Cutler Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Cutler Capital Management LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $7,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in Energy Transfer by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 75,353,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,400,831,000 after purchasing an additional 8,613,645 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 38,205,495 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $710,240,000 after acquiring an additional 951,656 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 24,170,455 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $449,329,000 after acquiring an additional 182,705 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $387,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,787,080 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $312,072,000 after acquiring an additional 455,860 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $17.4550 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $59.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.15. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $21.45.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.32. The company had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.07 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 102.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,350,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $23,436,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 69,178,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,200,938,360.72. This represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ET shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.75.

About Energy Transfer

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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