General American Investors Co. Inc. Acquires 1,000,000 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

General American Investors Co. Inc. raised its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 4,992.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,020,030 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Energy Transfer makes up about 1.4% of General American Investors Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. General American Investors Co. Inc.'s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $18,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,540 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 135,647 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 46,382 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,389 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Capital Management LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Capital Management LLC now owns 32,556 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the business'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 transaction, the director directly owned 24,523 shares in the company, valued at $453,185.04. The trade was 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 link. Insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $17.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,656,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,682,388. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.12. The business's fifty day moving average price is $17.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.39. The firm has a market cap of $60.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.79. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 5.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.3275 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.47%. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 99.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One 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, the company currently has an average 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.