Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 55,423 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 257,349 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 55,423 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $4,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, March 24th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.58.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $453,185.04. This represents a 5.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:ET traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.45. The company had a trading volume of 9,430,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,795,474. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $17.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.43. The company has a market capitalization of $59.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.79. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $14.60 and a 52 week high of $21.45.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.3275 per share. This represents a $1.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.51%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 99.24%.

Energy Transfer 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.