Energy Transfer LP $ET Shares Sold by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 3.7%, owning 481,419 shares valued at approximately $8.95 million following the sale of 18,502 shares.
• Energy Transfer recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.33 per share, representing a 7.5% yield, though its payout ratio is quite high at 102.33%.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Energy Transfer, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $22.54, supported by recent coverage by multiple investment firms.

Advisors Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 481,419 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 18,502 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $8,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. United Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,540 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 11,796 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 39,934 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 46,382 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 58,181 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,350,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 $1,200,938,360.72. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:ET opened at $17.49 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $21.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.85. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.68.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The business had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 102.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average 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.

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