Hobbs Group Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 49.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,691 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 6,531 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 1,350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 69,178,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,200,938,360.72. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Energy Transfer stock opened at $16.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.46. The company has a market capitalization of $55.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.78. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The business had revenue of $19.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.1%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is 102.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ET shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Scotiabank started coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.50.

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.