Fractal Investments LLC Purchases 647,885 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Fractal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 12.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,682,061 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 647,885 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer accounts for 16.4% of Fractal Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Fractal Investments LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Energy Transfer worth $79,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tectonic Advisors LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,507,000. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 219,806 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,084,000 after buying an additional 73,270 shares during the period. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 6,656,094 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $93,385,000 after buying an additional 320,915 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 74,978 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 259,062 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 87,576 shares during the period. 33.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Chairman Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.53 per share, with a total value of $13,530,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now owns 65,578,477 shares in the company, valued at $887,276,793.81. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Thomas P. Mason purchased 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.33 per share, with a total value of $99,975.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,707,720 shares in the company, valued at $22,763,907.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.53 per share, with a total value of $13,530,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 65,578,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,276,793.81. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ET has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $16.57.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $14.01. 9,260,700 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,638,078. The company has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm's 50-day moving average is $13.65 and its 200 day moving average is $13.46. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $11.45 and a 1 year high of $14.15.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $20.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.68 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 20th. Investors of record on Monday, October 30th were issued a dividend of $0.313 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 27th. This represents a $1.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.94%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 117.92%.

Energy Transfer Profile

Energy Transfer LP provides energy-related services. The company owns and operates approximately 11,600 miles of natural gas transportation pipeline, and three natural gas storage facilities in Texas and two natural gas storage facilities located in the state of Texas and Oklahoma; and 19,945 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline.

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