Empirical Finance LLC Grows Stake in Energy Transfer LP $ET

Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 62.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 389,546 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 149,101 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $7,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chelsea Counsel Co. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 74,050 shares during the last quarter. Ariston Services Group grew its position in Energy Transfer by 126.7% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $930,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 223.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,069,534 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $19,883,000 after buying an additional 738,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 29,404 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET stock opened at $16.97 on Wednesday. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $21.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $58.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.41.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $19.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.3325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.8%. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.