Energy Transfer LP $ET Shares Sold by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,027 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,090 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. CNB Bank lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 111.1% in the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 1,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Cowen began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.23.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Energy Transfer stock opened at $16.85 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45. The firm has a market cap of $57.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $17.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The company had revenue of $19.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.07 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.3325 per share. This represents a $1.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is currently 102.33%.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,350,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $23,436,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 69,178,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,200,938,360.72. This represents a 1.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.28% of the stock is currently 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.