AE Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 22.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,232 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 16,445 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $16.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.05 and a 200 day moving average of $15.85. The firm has a market cap of $54.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $12.90 and a one year high of $16.50.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Energy Transfer news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 591,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,270,188.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 591,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,270,188.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 3,040,000 shares of company stock worth $47,667,200. 3.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.14.

About Energy Transfer

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.