Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Director Purchases 1,000,000 Shares

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Director Kelcy Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.95 per share, with a total value of $16,950,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 104,577,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,772,593,760.85. The trade was a 0.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ET traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $16.63. 20,501,218 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,958,357. The stock has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76. Energy Transfer LP has a 1 year low of $14.60 and a 1 year high of $21.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The company had revenue of $19.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.3325 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.0%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ET shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 77,651,021 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,332,492,000 after purchasing an additional 3,366,734 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 57,862,666 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $992,923,000 after buying an additional 1,773,042 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 38,205,495 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $710,240,000 after purchasing an additional 951,656 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 23,351,183 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $400,706,000 after purchasing an additional 326,653 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Energy Transfer by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,898,420 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $375,777,000 after purchasing an additional 544,944 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Company 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.