Inspire Investing LLC Buys New Shares in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer LP, purchasing 148,461 shares valued at approximately $2.69 million.
• A number of institutional investors, including Ryan Investment Management and Vision Financial Markets, have also initiated positions in Energy Transfer, with institutional ownership now at 38.22%.
• Energy Transfer recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, representing an annualized yield of 8.1% and reflecting a significant increase in dividends from previous quarters.

Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 148,461 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $2,692,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ET. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth $33,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth $38,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth $40,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 price of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 69,178,477 shares in the company, valued at $1,200,938,360.72. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.9%

ET opened at $16.30 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $55.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.34 and a 200-day moving average of $17.47.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 company's revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.1%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 102.33%.

Energy Transfer Company 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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