Insider Buying: Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Director Purchases 1,350,000 Shares of Stock

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Director Kelcy Warren purchased 1,350,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 69,178,477 shares in the company, 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 accessible through the SEC website.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ET opened at $17.5250 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a twelve month low of $14.60 and a twelve month high of $21.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $60.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.91.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.80% and a return on equity of 11.08%. The company had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 102.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ET. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.9% during the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 75,353,994 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,400,831,000 after acquiring an additional 8,613,645 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 2.6% in the first quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 38,205,495 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $710,240,000 after acquiring an additional 951,656 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 0.8% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 24,170,455 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $449,329,000 after acquiring an additional 182,705 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 12.0% in the first quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 23,120,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $429,802,000 after acquiring an additional 2,471,401 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 9.3% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,353,476 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $387,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,825,391 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Cowen assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up previously from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.75.

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.