Directional Asset Management Takes Position in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Directional Asset Management acquired 80,500 shares of Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) in Q4 — about $1.33 million — making ET roughly 1.2% of the firm's holdings and its 26th-largest position.
• Energy Transfer raised its quarterly dividend to $0.335 (annualized $1.34), implying a ~7.0% yield, though the dividend payout ratio is about 110.7%, which may raise sustainability concerns.
• In the latest quarter ET missed EPS ($0.25 vs. $0.34 est.) but beat on revenue ($25.32B vs. $23.56B); analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $21.60.

Directional Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 80,500 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $1,327,000. Energy Transfer accounts for approximately 1.2% of Directional Asset Management's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ET. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Core Alternative Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,964 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,964 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,918 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ET. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $22.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $21.60.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ET opened at $19.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $65.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.22. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $15.80 and a one year high of $19.85. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $18.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.63.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The pipeline company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $25.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.56 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.11% and a return on equity of 10.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 29.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 19th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.74%.

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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