Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,786 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,344 shares during the quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ET. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. United Community Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total transaction of $25,299.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,185.04. The trade was a 5.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $17.88 on Thursday. Energy Transfer LP has a 12 month low of $14.60 and a 12 month high of $21.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.56. The company has a market cap of $61.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.03. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The firm had revenue of $21.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.3275 dividend. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.33%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 99.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ET shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.64.

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.