Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its position in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 65.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,098 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 282,156 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $2,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ET. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $322,097,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Energy Transfer by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $350,845,000 after buying an additional 3,976,676 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,642,769 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $395,270,000 after acquiring an additional 3,368,427 shares during the last quarter. Natixis lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 20.0% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $283,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,999,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 117.3% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,867,998 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $53,378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088,356 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET stock opened at $15.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.18. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $12.46 and a 1 year high of $16.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.53.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The firm had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Energy Transfer news, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,562,909.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Thomas E. Long acquired 20,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ET. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Mizuho increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.29.

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.