Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Acquires 47,140 Shares of Energy Transfer LP $ET

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,045,747 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,140 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $91,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Chelsea Counsel Co. raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 370.3% in the 2nd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 94,050 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 74,050 shares in the last quarter. Ariston Services Group increased its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 126.7% in the second quarter. Ariston Services Group now owns 100,683 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 56,274 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at about $930,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Energy Transfer by 223.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,069,534 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $19,883,000 after purchasing an additional 738,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Energy Transfer by 11.9% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 275,698 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $5,125,000 after purchasing an additional 29,404 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $17.00 price target on Energy Transfer and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.08.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,350,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 69,178,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 at this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Energy Transfer Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:ET opened at $17.01 on Monday. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $21.45. The company has a market capitalization of $58.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $16.95 and a 200-day moving average of $17.40.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The firm had revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be issued a $0.3325 dividend. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.8%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.40%.

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.