Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 33.0%, owning 88,262 shares valued at approximately $1,641,000 after buying an additional 21,892 shares in the first quarter.
• Energy Transfer announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 7.6%, although the payout ratio is currently at 102.33%.
• Research analysts generally favor Energy Transfer with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.75, despite JPMorgan Chase reducing their target from $25.00 to $23.00.

Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 33.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,262 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 21,892 shares during the quarter. Joseph P. Lucia & Associates LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.9% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 75,353,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,400,831,000 after purchasing an additional 8,613,645 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at $92,607,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at $79,113,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at $50,166,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Energy Transfer by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,331,220 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $319,929,000 after buying an additional 2,512,060 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Energy Transfer stock traded up $0.0650 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.5250. The company had a trading volume of 16,829,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,553,958. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $21.45. 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 company has a market capitalization of $60.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $17.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.93.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is 102.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 24,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $453,185.04. This trade represents a 5.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,350,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 69,178,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,200,938,360.72. This represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ET shares. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Cowen began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.75.

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.