Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Shares Sold by ELCO Management Co. LLC

ELCO Management Co. LLC lessened its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 519,719 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 20,758 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer makes up approximately 5.3% of ELCO Management Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. ELCO Management Co. LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $9,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 75,353,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,400,831,000 after purchasing an additional 8,613,645 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $756,840,000 after acquiring an additional 5,254,721 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $387,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,381 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,331,220 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $319,929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,512,060 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 14,619,124 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $286,389,000 after purchasing an additional 962,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total transaction of $25,299.12. Following the sale, the director owned 24,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $453,185.04. This trade represents a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

NYSE:ET opened at $17.45 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $17.75 and its 200 day moving average is $18.42. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 5.88%. Energy Transfer's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.3275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.51%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ET. TD Cowen began coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Mizuho upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.58.

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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