Energy Transfer LP $ET Position Increased by Energy Income Partners LLC

Key Points

• Energy Income Partners LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 12.0%, reaching over 23 million shares and making it their second-largest investment.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own approximately 38.22% of Energy Transfer's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on Energy Transfer, with twelve rating it as a Buy and a target price average of $22.50 per share.

Energy Income Partners LLC lifted its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 12.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,120,066 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,471,401 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer comprises about 8.2% of Energy Income Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Energy Income Partners LLC owned approximately 0.67% of Energy Transfer worth $429,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strong Tower Advisory Services purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $2,604,000. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 316.9% in the first quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117,312 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 89,173 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 125.0% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 469,227 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $9,192,000 after purchasing an additional 260,700 shares during the period. Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $92,607,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.9% in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Cowen began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total transaction of $25,299.12. Following the sale, the director owned 24,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $453,185.04. This represents a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,350,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $23,436,000.00. Following 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. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE ET traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $17.73. The company had a trading volume of 8,953,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,085,597. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.85. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $14.60 and a 1-year high of $21.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.64 and a 200 day moving average of $17.78.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The business had revenue of $19.24 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is currently 102.33%.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

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.