WCG Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

WCG Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 11.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,163 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,725 shares during the quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.2 %

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

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.90%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 117.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the 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 $313,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at $67,562,909.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 3,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at $67,562,909.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 3,040,000 shares of company stock worth $47,667,200. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.