Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Stake Raised by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,107,470 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 171,720 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer comprises approximately 1.2% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.48% of Energy Transfer worth $261,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ET. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 133,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $645,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 208,553 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 58,147 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,624,151 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $22,413,000 after purchasing an additional 26,575 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,207,751 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $16,667,000 after purchasing an additional 71,530 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ET. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at $67,562,909.12. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 3,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,562,909.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ET opened at $16.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.82. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $12.90 and a twelve month high of $16.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $54.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The firm had revenue of $20.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.90%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 117.43%.

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.