Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC Sells 1,000 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,532 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Berkley W R Corp increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Berkley W R Corp now owns 5,334,494 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $83,912,000 after purchasing an additional 555,445 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.3% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 56,366 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 2,326 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings 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 valued at $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 71,386 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 26,335 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 491.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,290,364 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $20,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072,144 shares in the last quarter. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 1.3 %

Energy Transfer stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,542,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,553,185. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $12.90 and a 52-week high of $16.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.62.

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

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.93%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 117.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ET has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho raised 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, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.29.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 approximately $1,934,686,992. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Energy Transfer news, CEO Thomas E. Long purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 3,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.