Ieq Capital LLC Sells 19,097 Shares of Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 9.0%, now holding 192,435 shares valued at approximately $3.58 million.
• Energy Transfer recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.32, matching analysts' expectations but suffering a 7.2% year-over-year revenue decline.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 7.4%.

Ieq Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 9.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 192,435 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 19,097 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $3,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ET. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 93.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 11,844 shares during the period. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $784,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,276,127 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $24,999,000 after purchasing an additional 157,669 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 389,075 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $7,622,000 after purchasing an additional 40,329 shares during the period. Finally, BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $468,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $25,299.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,523 shares in the company, valued at $453,185.04. This trade represents a 5.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,350,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $23,436,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 69,178,477 shares in the company, valued at $1,200,938,360.72. This represents a 1.99% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ET. Cowen began coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.50.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ET traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.73. The stock had a trading volume of 8,953,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,085,597. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.85. Energy Transfer LP has a 1-year low of $14.60 and a 1-year high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The company had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.07 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 102.33%.

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.