Uptick Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Uptick Partners LLC bought a new position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 10,603 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $192,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ET. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

NYSE:ET opened at $16.89 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.42. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $21.45. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $57.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.78.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.33%.

Insider Activity at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer 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 purchased at an average price of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 69,178,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,200,938,360.72. The trade was a 1.99% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ET shares. Cowen started coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank started coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.46.

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.