Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC trimmed its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 50.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,523 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 22,911 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $594,769,000 after purchasing an additional 4,141,715 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $350,845,000 after buying an additional 3,976,676 shares during the period. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at about $322,097,000. Natixis lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $283,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,999,300 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,785,510 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $231,640,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085,240 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Long bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at $67,562,909.12. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Thomas E. Long bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired 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. Insiders have acquired 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

NYSE ET opened at $16.17 on Tuesday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $20.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.01 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The business’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 117.43%.

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.