Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Shares Sold by Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,864 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 2,454 shares during the quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Reserve GP XIII Ltd acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter valued at $322,097,000. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in Energy Transfer by 12.7% in the second quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 36,668,846 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $594,769,000 after purchasing an additional 4,141,715 shares in the last quarter. Natixis increased its holdings in Energy Transfer by 20.0% in the first quarter. Natixis now owns 18,020,559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $283,463,000 after buying an additional 2,999,300 shares during the last quarter. Payden & Rygel Investment Group acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the first quarter valued at approximately $20,164,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 6,591,793 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $106,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of ET opened at $16.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.02 and its 200-day moving average is $15.88. Energy Transfer LP has a one year low of $12.90 and a one year high of $16.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 5.19%. The firm had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.95%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Energy Transfer currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.14.

Insider Transactions at Energy Transfer

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. In other news, CEO Thomas E. Long bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.68 per share, with a total value of $313,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,308,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,562,909.12. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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. Insiders have acquired 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.28% of the company’s stock.

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.