Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 7,161 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Kovack Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,259 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 7,161 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ET. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,368,427 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $353,576,000 after buying an additional 7,097,074 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $350,845,000 after buying an additional 3,976,676 shares in the last quarter. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd bought a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,097,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Energy Transfer by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,785,510 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $231,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,085,240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:ET opened at $16.33 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $55.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $12.46 and a twelve month high of $16.48.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.04). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.85%. The company had revenue of $21.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.317 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.76%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 116.51%.

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.