Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 3.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,845,565 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,137 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer makes up 0.8% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.09% of Energy Transfer worth $36,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ET. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 109,332.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 145,943,387 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,732,348,000 after acquiring an additional 145,810,023 shares during the period. Natixis boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 42,600,549 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $505,669,000 after purchasing an additional 15,361,035 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 76,339,168 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $906,146,000 after buying an additional 13,220,435 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 7.2% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 28,241,913 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $352,177,000 after buying an additional 1,886,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 19,587,630 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $232,505,000 after buying an additional 1,800,820 shares during the period. 33.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET opened at $13.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $42.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 1.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $13.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.81. Energy Transfer LP has a 52 week low of $10.02 and a 52 week high of $13.87.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The pipeline company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.05). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.05% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 29.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 11th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ET. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In other news, Chairman Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.00 per share, for a total transaction of $14,950,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 64,578,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $839,520,201. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.00 per share, for a total transaction of $14,950,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 64,578,477 shares in the company, valued at $839,520,201. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Bradford D. Whitehurst bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.00 per share, for a total transaction of $130,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 1,313,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,069,715. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 2,010,000 shares of company stock worth $26,149,000. 3.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Energy Transfer Profile

Energy Transfer LP provides energy-related services. The company owns and operates approximately 11,600 miles of natural gas transportation pipeline, and three natural gas storage facilities in Texas and two natural gas storage facilities located in the state of Texas and Oklahoma; and 19,945 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline.