Cooperman Leon G Raises Stake in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Cooperman Leon G increased its holdings in Energy Transfer LP by 2.7%, now controlling approximately 13 million shares, making it the 2nd largest holding in their portfolio.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share was recently announced, yielding 7.4%, despite a dividend payout ratio of 102.33%.
• Energy Transfer's stock has seen an average price target increase to $22.50 with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts.

Cooperman Leon G grew its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,000,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 340,000 shares during the period. Energy Transfer accounts for about 9.6% of Cooperman Leon G's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Cooperman Leon G owned approximately 0.38% of Energy Transfer worth $241,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ET. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth about $33,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth about $38,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ET. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. 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. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.54.

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 purchased 1,350,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 69,178,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,200,938,360.72. This represents a 1.99% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE ET traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.41. 12,069,242 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,490,927. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.74. The company has a market capitalization of $59.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.85. Energy Transfer LP has a 12 month low of $14.60 and a 12 month high of $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

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. As a group, equities research 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%.

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.