Creative Planning Increases Holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Creative Planning grew its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 5.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 681,018 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,668 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $11,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ET. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on 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 lifted their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho boosted 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, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.14.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

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

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ET stock opened at $16.10 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $16.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.88. The company has a market capitalization of $54.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.95%. 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. Energy Transfer’s 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.