Focus Partners Wealth Raises Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 11.9%, owning 275,698 shares valued at approximately $5.1 million after acquiring additional shares during Q1.
• Energy Transfer recently reported a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, yielding 7.6%, while its payout ratio stands at 102.33%.
• The stock has a market capitalization of $59.90 billion and analysts have assigned it a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $22.54.

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 275,698 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 29,404 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $5,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE:ET traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $17.44. The stock had a trading volume of 14,417,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,723,466. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.85. 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 quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The company had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Energy Transfer's quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is presently 102.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,350,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on ET shares. Scotiabank started 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 for the company. Cowen started coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $23.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.50.

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.