Berkley W R Corp Buys 1,000,000 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Berkley W R Corp lifted its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 18.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,334,494 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Energy Transfer accounts for 4.3% of Berkley W R Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Berkley W R Corp’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $102,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ET. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.3% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 56,366 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 145,894 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,013,000 after buying an additional 71,386 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 491.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,290,364 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $20,297,000 after buying an additional 1,072,144 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 2.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 549,971 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $8,651,000 after buying an additional 15,097 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,464 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 5,730 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

NYSE ET opened at $16.27 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $12.90 and a 12-month high of $16.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.84.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is 117.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Long bought 20,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at $67,562,909.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Thomas E. Long bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following 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. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

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.