11,897 Shares in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Bought by Sovereign Financial Group Inc.

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,897 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $187,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 14.5% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 73,666,501 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,033,541,000 after purchasing an additional 9,341,798 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,642,769 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $395,270,000 after acquiring an additional 3,368,427 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Energy Transfer by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 25,621,485 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $353,576,000 after acquiring an additional 7,097,074 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,976,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Reserve GP XIII Ltd acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $322,097,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET stock opened at $15.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.70 and a 200-day moving average of $14.96. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $12.46 and a one year high of $16.40. The company has a market cap of $53.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.63.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $21.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.91 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.317 dividend. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 116.51%.

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.