Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC Sells 17,800 Shares of Energy Transfer LP $ET

Key Points

• Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC reduced its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 26.8%, selling 17,800 shares and retaining a total of 48,732 shares valued at approximately $906,000.
• Energy Transfer has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.33 per share, with a dividend yield of 7.7%, despite a payout ratio of 102.33%.
• Research analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Energy Transfer shares, with a price target averaging around $22.75.

Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lessened its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,732 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 17,800 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ET. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 75,353,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,400,831,000 after buying an additional 8,613,645 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 0.8% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 24,170,455 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $449,329,000 after acquiring an additional 182,705 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $387,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,381 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.8% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,787,080 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $312,072,000 after purchasing an additional 455,860 shares during the period. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 13,750,386 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $269,370,000 after purchasing an additional 610,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE ET traded down $0.0180 on Wednesday, reaching $17.3320. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,990,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,563,473. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $14.60 and a 52 week high of $21.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $59.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.96.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The firm had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio is currently 102.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Cowen started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Twelve equities 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total value of $25,299.12. Following the sale, the director owned 24,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,185.04. The trade was a 5.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

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.