Focus Financial Network Inc. Sells 9,494 Shares of Energy Transfer LP $ET

Focus Financial Network Inc. trimmed its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 26.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,827 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 9,494 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren purchased 1,350,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,200,938,360.72. This represents a 1.99% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $23.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.50.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of ET stock opened at $17.32 on Friday. Energy Transfer LP has a fifty-two week low of $14.60 and a fifty-two week high of $21.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.85. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.61.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 5.80%.The company had revenue of $19.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. Energy Transfer’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.33%.

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.