Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Decreases Stake in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Freestone Capital Holdings LLC reduced its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 92.1% during the first quarter, selling 126,999 shares, leaving them with 10,884 shares valued at $202,000.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Energy Transfer, with twelve research analysts having rated it a Buy and a target price average of $22.75.
• Energy Transfer recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend, resulting in an annualized yield of 7.6%, despite a payout ratio exceeding 102%.

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC decreased its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 92.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,884 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 126,999 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth about $33,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.4%

Energy Transfer stock traded up $0.0650 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.5250. 16,829,699 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,696,027. 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 LP has a 12 month low of $14.60 and a 12 month high of $21.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.91. The company has a market cap of $60.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.83.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target 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 issued a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.75.

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.