Energy Transfer LP $ET Stake Lowered by HB Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management LLC has reduced its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 22.2%, holding 144,466 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 7.8%, although the dividend payout ratio is currently over 100%.
• Several brokerages have set a consensus target price of $22.50 for Energy Transfer, with the stock currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts.

HB Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,466 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 41,294 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $2,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth $38,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth $40,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ET. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Scotiabank began 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 began 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.0%

ET stock opened at $17.00 on Thursday. 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 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $21.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.78.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The company had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.8%. 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 is currently 102.33%.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,350,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was acquired 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 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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