Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Raises Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 9.0% during the second quarter, owning 280,511 shares valued at approximately $5.1 million.
• Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1.35 million shares at $17.36 each, raising his total ownership to almost 69.2 million shares worth over $1.2 billion.
• Energy Transfer announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, maintaining an annualized yield of 8.0% despite a significant payout ratio of 102.33%.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 280,511 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,162 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $5,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 31.1% during the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 22,782 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 5,401 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.5% in the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 491,544 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $8,912,000 after acquiring an additional 16,677 shares in the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.4% during the second quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 19,572 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the period. Aire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.7% in the second quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 29,934 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 9.5% in the second quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 703,587 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $12,756,000 after acquiring an additional 61,218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,350,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 69,178,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,200,938,360.72. The trade was a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET stock opened at $16.44 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $17.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.15. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $21.45. The firm has a market cap of $56.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.78.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.07 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The business's revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued 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 8.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is 102.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ET shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.67.

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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