Cascade Investment Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Cascade Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,836 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 3,050 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer comprises approximately 1.2% of Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $1,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 55.9% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 2,651 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on 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 lifted their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.29.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at $67,562,909.12. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

ET traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $15.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,024,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,541,625. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $12.46 and a fifty-two week high of $16.50. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $53.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.53.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.01 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.22% and a net margin of 4.85%. The business’s revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.02%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.43%.

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.