Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC Acquires 14,421 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 386,664 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,421 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer comprises 1.1% of Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $7,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 135,281 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 41,438 shares in the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth $2,253,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth $597,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 12,090.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,455,613 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $244,005,000 after acquiring an additional 12,353,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth $2,604,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.1%

ET traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.45. 9,430,584 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,795,474. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $17.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.79.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 5.88%. The company had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ET. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen started coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.58.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total value of $25,299.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 24,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,185.04. The trade was a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

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.