Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Shares Sold by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,878 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 6,100 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $287,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,141,715 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $67,020,000 after purchasing an additional 3,913,266 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the first quarter worth $20,164,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $21,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,778 shares during the period. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 22.3% during the second quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 6,591,793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $106,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ET. UBS Group raised their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Energy Transfer stock opened at $17.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.11. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $13.11 and a one year high of $17.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. Energy Transfer’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.3225 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.29 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.34%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 591,211 shares in the company, valued at $9,270,188.48. This represents a 3.50 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

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.