Philosophy Capital Management LLC Buys 48,582 Shares of Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Philosophy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 1.9%, making it the firm's third largest position, with approximately 2.57 million shares owned, valued at about $47.7 million.
• Energy Transfer recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, maintaining a high yield of 7.6%, though its payout ratio stands at 102.33%.
• Several research firms have upgraded Energy Transfer's rating, with price targets for the stock ranging from $22.00 to $25.00, indicating a positive outlook among analysts.

Philosophy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,568,231 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 48,582 shares during the period. Energy Transfer accounts for 3.4% of Philosophy Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Philosophy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Energy Transfer worth $47,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.9% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 75,353,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,400,831,000 after purchasing an additional 8,613,645 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.6% during the first 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 buying an additional 951,656 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 0.8% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 24,170,455 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $449,329,000 after buying an additional 182,705 shares during the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 12.0% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 23,120,066 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $429,802,000 after purchasing an additional 2,471,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $387,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,381 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Energy Transfer news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total value of $25,299.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $453,185.04. The trade was a 5.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,350,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 69,178,477 shares in the company, valued at $1,200,938,360.72. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ET. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.54.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,069,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,324,650. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.71. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year 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. The stock has a market cap of $59.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.85.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. The firm 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.33 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. Energy Transfer's dividend 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.