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

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lessened its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 17.7% during the first 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 quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ET. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Energy Transfer by 12,090.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,455,613 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $244,005,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353,441 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $756,840,000 after acquiring an additional 5,254,721 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,113,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,166,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position 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 period. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Cowen initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director owned 24,523 shares in the company, valued at $453,185.04. This trade represents a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ET opened at $17.63 on Thursday. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $14.60 and a twelve month high of $21.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $17.71 and its 200-day moving average is $18.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $21.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The business's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.3275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.43%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is 99.24%.

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.

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