Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 25.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 525,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 175,000 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $9,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 164.1% in the fourth quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,566 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 37,633 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 135,281 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 41,438 shares during the period. Greenland Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $2,253,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $597,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 12,090.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,455,613 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $244,005,000 after acquiring an additional 12,353,441 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.64.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total value of $25,299.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,185.04. This represents a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of ET stock opened at $17.81 on Monday. 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 1.41, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $17.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.53. The company has a market cap of $61.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.78.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 5.88%. The firm had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.3275 dividend. This represents a $1.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.36%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Energy Transfer's dividend 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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