Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Shares Acquired by Brookstone Capital Management

Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 8.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 205,620 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 15,496 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $3,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ET. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $322,097,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 25,423,547 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $350,845,000 after purchasing an additional 3,976,676 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 28,642,769 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $395,270,000 after purchasing an additional 3,368,427 shares during the last quarter. Natixis increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 20.0% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $283,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,999,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 117.3% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,867,998 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $53,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,088,356 shares during the period. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ET. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.29.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

ET traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,588,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,591,935. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.66. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $12.83 and a fifty-two week high of $16.50.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.01 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.85% and a return on equity of 12.22%. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.85%. Energy Transfer’s payout ratio is presently 117.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Energy Transfer news, CEO Thomas E. Long bought 20,000 shares of Energy Transfer stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 4,308,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,934,686,992. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.