Energy Transfer LP $ET Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (TXSE:ET) by 11.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,669,929 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 329,446 shares during the quarter. Energy Transfer accounts for about 0.8% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $52,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the third quarter worth $4,459,000. Bahl & Gaynor LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor LLC now owns 349,827 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 37,791 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 15,869 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643 shares during the period. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC now owns 104,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in Energy Transfer by 166.3% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 35,705 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 22,295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of Energy Transfer stock opened at $19.45 on Thursday. Energy Transfer LP has a 12 month low of $16.18 and a 12 month high of $21.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market cap of $66.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.73.

Energy Transfer (TXSE:ET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $37.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.98 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.87% and a return on equity of 11.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.3425 per share. This is a boost from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $1.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.0%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho set a $26.00 price objective on Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Energy Transfer from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.73.

Key Stories Impacting Energy Transfer

Investors following ET have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo kept its “overweight” rating and $25 price target, citing strong organic pipeline growth and calling Energy Transfer a top pick in the midstream sector. Article: This energy stock remains a top pick at Wells Fargo post Q3
• Positive Sentiment: The partnership announced a quarterly payout of $0.3425 per unit, its 20th consecutive quarterly increase. Coverage says cash flow supports the distribution, reinforcing ET’s appeal to income-focused investors. Article: Energy Transfer Just Sent a Message to Anyone Collecting $13,700 a Year by Raising Its Payout After an Earnings Miss
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy Transfer priced $2.7 billion of senior notes due in 2032, 2037 and 2057, with coupons of 5.45%, 5.90% and 6.55%. The funding can support its capital program, but adds long-term debt and interest costs. Article: How Investors May Respond To Energy Transfer Stock 2.7b Bond Offering

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Energy Transfer news, Director Kelcy Warren bought 647,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.26 per share, with a total value of $13,775,799.68. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 147,901,879 shares in the company, valued at $3,144,393,947.54. The trade was a 0.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer LP is a diversified energy infrastructure company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The partnership owns and operates a broad network of pipelines, processing facilities, storage assets and terminals that support the movement of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil and refined products across the United States. The company’s operations include gathering and processing natural gas, transporting and storing natural gas and NGLs, fractionating NGLs into component products, and transporting crude oil and refined products.