JT Stratford LLC Invests $607,000 in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• JT Stratford LLC invested approximately $607,000 in Energy Transfer LP, acquiring 32,677 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Alps Advisors Inc. and Commerce Bank, also increased their positions in Energy Transfer LP, raising the total institutional ownership to 38.22%.
• Energy Transfer recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33, maintaining a yield of 7.6%, despite a payout ratio exceeding 100%.

JT Stratford LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 32,677 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ET shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Cowen initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.75.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE ET opened at $17.3450 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.96. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $14.60 and a 52 week high of $21.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.83.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $24.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is 102.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Energy Transfer 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 completion of the sale, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.