Morningstar Investment Management LLC Has $1.10 Million Stock Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management LLC significantly reduced its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 72.8%, holding about 59,337 shares worth approximately $1.10 million after selling 158,855 shares in Q1.
• A recent dividend of $0.33 was declared by Energy Transfer, reflecting a 7.42% annual yield and an increase from the previous quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Energy Transfer's stock, with price targets ranging from $21.00 to $23.00 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Morningstar Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 72.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,337 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 158,855 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ET. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,530 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 11,844 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 131.6% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 244,213 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,784,000 after acquiring an additional 138,761 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 82,383 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,614,000 after buying an additional 14,982 shares during the last quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,139 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 7,985 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,090 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ET. Mizuho boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.58.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ET traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $17.83. 13,310,026 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,531,539. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $21.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.79 and a 200-day moving average of $18.24.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 99.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Energy Transfer news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director owned 24,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $453,185.04. This trade represents a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

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.