Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Has $312.07 Million Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. has increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP by 2.8%, now holding approximately 16.8 million shares valued at $312.07 million, making it the firm's largest position.
• Energy Transfer recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, reflecting a yield of 7.4% and a payout ratio of 100%, indicating strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• The company's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.36, surpassing expectations but with a 2.8% decline in revenue year-over-year, highlighting mixed performance despite meeting profit estimates.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,787,080 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 455,860 shares during the period. Energy Transfer makes up about 2.4% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Energy Transfer worth $312,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ET. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 75,353,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,400,831,000 after purchasing an additional 8,613,645 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $756,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254,721 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 0.8% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 24,170,455 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $449,329,000 after purchasing an additional 182,705 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $387,416,000 after buying an additional 1,093,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 14,619,124 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $286,389,000 after buying an additional 962,800 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Trading Down 0.1%

ET opened at $17.78 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $17.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Energy Transfer LP has a 12 month low of $14.60 and a 12 month high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.02 billion during 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on ET shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.58.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In related news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 24,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,185.04. This represents a 5.29% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 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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