17,072 Shares in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Acquired by Retirement Investment Advisors Inc.

Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,072 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ET. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake 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 worth $594,769,000 after acquiring an additional 4,141,715 shares during the period. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,097,000. Natixis boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $283,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,999,300 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,785,510 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $231,640,000 after buying an additional 1,085,240 shares during the period. Finally, Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.9% during the second quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 14,883,956 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $241,418,000 after buying an additional 425,323 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Energy Transfer stock opened at $16.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $12.90 and a 52 week high of $16.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.81. 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 (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $20.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is currently 117.43%.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

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

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.