Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 262,700 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 56.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206,527 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 262,700 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $3,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 56.7% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 772,821 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $14,367,000 after buying an additional 279,714 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 24.3% during the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 149,978 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,788,000 after buying an additional 29,346 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.0% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 40,466 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $752,000 after buying an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.3% during the first quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,464 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 2,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 10.7% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 121,543 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,259,000 after buying an additional 11,717 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.58.

Insider Activity

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

Energy Transfer Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE ET opened at $17.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.83. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $14.60 and a 52 week high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 11.47%. Energy Transfer's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 99.24%.

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.

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