Energy Transfer LP $ET Shares Purchased by Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC

Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,036,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Energy Transfer makes up 21.6% of Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Energy Transfer worth $36,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 bought at an average price of $17.36 per share, with a total value of $23,436,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 69,178,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,200,938,360.72. The trade was a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ET has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.54.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of ET stock opened at $17.45 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $14.60 and a one year 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.85.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $24.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.6%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 102.33%.

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.