Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Position Increased by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,107,470 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 171,720 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer accounts for approximately 1.2% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $261,263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ET. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 133,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth approximately $645,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 208,553 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,878,000 after purchasing an additional 58,147 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,624,151 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $22,413,000 after buying an additional 26,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Energy Transfer by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 1,207,751 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $16,667,000 after buying an additional 71,530 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock opened at $16.20 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.82. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $12.90 and a twelve month high of $16.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.66.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 5.19%. The business had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.90%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Energy Transfer

In related news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 591,211 shares in the company, valued at $9,270,188.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 591,211 shares in the company, valued at $9,270,188.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200 over the last three months. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ET shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.14.

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.