Appaloosa LP Raises Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Appaloosa LP has increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 0.9%, owning 4,957,235 shares after acquiring an additional 42,500 shares, making it the firm's 15th largest holding.
• Energy Transfer reported a quarterly EPS of $0.32, meeting analysts' expectations, but its revenue of $19.24 billion fell short of the estimated $24.07 billion, reflecting a 7.2% year-over-year decline.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.33 per share, providing a 7.5% yield, although its dividend payout ratio stands at a high 102.33%.

Appaloosa LP increased its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,957,235 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 42,500 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer comprises approximately 1.1% of Appaloosa LP's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Appaloosa LP owned 0.14% of Energy Transfer worth $92,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cooperman Leon G raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Cooperman Leon G now owns 13,000,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $241,670,000 after purchasing an additional 340,000 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth about $998,000. Newbrook Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,313,000. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 23,120,066 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $429,802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,471,401 shares during the period. Finally, MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 755,652 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $14,048,000 after acquiring an additional 9,932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,350,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director directly owned 69,178,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,200,938,360.72. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total value of $25,299.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

NYSE:ET traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.41. The company had a trading volume of 12,069,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,490,927. The firm has a market cap of $59.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.85. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $17.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.74. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The business had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.6%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is presently 102.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ET. Cowen initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. 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. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, May 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.54.

Energy Transfer 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.