Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. Sells 177,592 Shares of Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. has reduced its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 4.6% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 3.65 million shares valued at nearly $67.94 million.
• Wells Fargo recently issued an "overweight" rating on Energy Transfer with a price target of $23.00, while 12 analysts have rated the stock as a Buy.
• Energy Transfer declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, which reflects a 7.4% yield and an increase from its previous dividend.

Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,654,665 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 177,592 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer accounts for about 10.2% of Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. owned 0.11% of Energy Transfer worth $67,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,540 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Energy Transfer by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Beam Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 39,934 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Morton Capital Management LLC CA increased its position in 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 worth $862,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 58,181 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Finally, FAS Wealth Partners Inc. increased its position in Energy Transfer by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 33,733 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $17.73. 8,953,355 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,085,597. The firm has a market cap of $60.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 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. Energy Transfer LP has a 12 month low of $14.60 and a 12 month high of $21.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $17.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.79.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $19.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ET. Cowen began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen started coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Energy Transfer news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,350,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

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.